Speaker

Garry Keller is a seasoned senior executive with almost thirty years of experience working with Canada’s political and business elite.
Garry has served in several key leadership roles in Canadian politics, including as Chief of Staff to Canada’s Foreign Minister from 2011-15, the Honourable John Baird, delivering strategic, communications and political results for Canada on the world stage. As someone
with unique insight into how decisions are made around Canadian foreign policy at
the highest political levels, Garry is regularly sought out by the diplomatic
community present in Canada for advice and views.
He also served as chief Parliamentary advisor to Canada’s 22nd Prime Minister, the
Rt. Hon. Stephen Harper. Other senior roles included serving as Chief of Staff to the
Leader of the Opposition and Chief of Staff to the Government House Leader and
Chief Government Whip. As well, Garry served as Acting Chief of Staff to a provincial political party.
During his time at StrategyCorp, he has helped private sector and not-for-profit
clients solve challenging strategic policy and political issues across both federal
and provincial levels of government. His experience includes regulatory and legal
matters, national security matters, trade negotiations, and the promotion of
Canadian interests and values on the world stage. Garry is also a senior member of
StrategyCorp’s Geopolitical and International Advisory Practice.

Garry regularly provides commentary on domestic and international politics for
CBC’s Power and Politics, CTV News Channel and TVO’s The Agenda. He is also a
regular guest on Ottawa’s talk radio political panels. His commentary has also
appeared in the National Post, the Globe and Mail, the New York Times and the
Washington Post, and he has appeared on a variety of news networks across the
world commenting on Canadian politics and elections including BBC, Al Jazeera,
Monocle, France24, and Israel i24.
He is also a Program Fellow of Carleton University’s Riddell Graduate Program in
Political Management, where he guest lectures and mentors students seeking a
career in government relations and/or politics.