Comings and Goings
This week’s movers on the government relations scene.
Davis Legree
Reporter
Former finance minister Chrystia Freeland has been appointed as warden and CEO of the Rhodes Trust, which manages one of the world’s most prestigious scholarship programs.
Freeland, a former Rhodes scholar, is the current MP for University-Rosedale and has held a variety of federal cabinet positions over the last decade, including trade, foreign affairs, and intergovernmental affairs. From 2019 to 2024, she served as Justin Trudeau’s deputy prime minister, though her tenure culminated in a bombshell resignation on the same day she was expected to introduce the government’s fall economic statement.
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Since Mark Carney assumed the Prime Minister’s Office, Freeland has worked as minister responsible for transport and internal trade. Earlier this year, she resigned from cabinet and took on a new job as special representative for the reconstruction of Ukraine.
“It is an honour and privilege to return to Oxford as Warden of Rhodes House and CEO of the Rhodes Trust,” said Freeland in a statement. “Having personally benefitted from a Rhodes Scholarship, I know how deeply transformative and influential it can be on the lives and futures of our Scholars.”
“I look forward to working with the Trust to build on its remarkable legacy and further strengthen the impact of the Scholarships—on individual Scholars, on the global Rhodes community, and on society.”
Freeland will officially start her new role on July 1, 2026.
Meanwhile, Michael Ras has joined Proof Strategies on a part-time basis as the firm’s new senior counsel, which he described as a “strategic advisory role.”
A familiar face on the Ottawa government relations scene, Ras most recently worked as CEO of Employee Ownership Canada, though he’s previously held positions at Counsel Public Affairs, Temple Scott Associates, and Hill and Knowlton.
Ras stood as the Conservative candidate in Mississauga-Lakeshore during the 2021 federal election, when he finished second to Liberal nominee Sven Spengemann. He also sits on the board of governors at Wilfrid Laurier University.
Elsewhere, longtime Liberal staffer Matthew Dillon-Leitch has entered the private sector as director at Creative Currency. Dillon-Leitch had previously worked in communications and parliamentary affairs for various Trudeau-era cabinet ministers. He was also deputy director for the Liberal Party’s digital and advertising initiatives during this past year’s election campaign.
In other news, former journalist and senator André Pratte is a new strategic consultant at Catalyze4, the GR firm launched by Liberal stalwart Andrew Bevan earlier this year, while Charlsie Agro, previously the host of CBC’s Marketplace, has joined Oyster Group as a senior consultant.
And, in case you missed it, Earnscliffe principal Allan Gregg has been appointed as a senior fellow at the C.D. Howe Institute, while Sajjid Lakhani from Impact Public Affairs was recently awarded the Public Affairs Association of Canada’s inaugural Emerging Leader Award.
Congratulations to all!
Please send your tips about people in the government relations scene on the move to [email protected].
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