Joanne White (December 27, 1946 – February 10, 2024) was a Canadian philanthropist and

political operative Political campaign staff are the group of people who formulate and implement the strategy of a political campaign. Campaign staffs are generally composed both of unpaid volunteers and paid employees of either the campaign itself or a related po ...

who served as chief of staff to the prime minister under

Kim Campbell Avril Phaedra Douglas "Kim" Campbell (born March 10, 1947) is a Canadian politician who was the 19th prime minister of Canada from June to November 1993. Campbell is the first and only female prime minister of Canada. Prior to becoming the f ...

in 1993.

Early life and education

White was born on December 27, 1946, in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. She studied political science at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

's Victoria College in the mid-1960s, followed by a degree in journalism from Carleton University in

Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

. While at the University of Toronto, she joined the sorority

Alpha Phi Alpha Phi International Women's Fraternity (, also known as APhi) is an international Fraternities and sororities in North America, sorority with 175 active chapters and over 270,000 initiated members. Founded at Syracuse University in Syracuse, ...

Career

White's career began as a television news reporter and radio producer. She once held the post of president of the

Public Policy Forum The Public Policy Forum (PPF) is an independent, non-profit Canadian think tank for public-private dialogue. The organization's stated vision is "good policy for a better Canada, where everyone has an opportunity to flourish individually and toge ...

, an independent, national, non-profit organization with a mandate to promote better

public policy Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a Group decision-making, decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to Problem solving, solve or address relevant and problematic social issues, guided by a conceptio ...

and better

public management Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...

through dialogue among leaders from the public, private, labour and voluntary sectors. She was the Vice President of corporate affairs at Imasco Ltd., the founder of Sydney House and co-founder of Neville Group. Following the 1984 election, White was named as

Joe Clark Charles Joseph Clark (born June 5, 1939) is a Canadian businessman, writer, and retired politician who served as the 16th prime minister of Canada from 1979 to 1980. He also served as Leader of the Official Opposition (Canada), leader of the ...

's chief of staff, who was Canada's

minister of foreign affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

. In 1993, she worked on

Jean Charest John James "Jean" Charest (; born June 24, 1958) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the 29th premier of Quebec from 2003 to 2012. Prior to that, he was a member of Parliament (MP) between 1984 and 1998. After holding se ...

's campaign in the Progressive Conservative leadership race. Following

's election as Progressive Conservative leader and becoming

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

, White became Campbell's

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

. White was the first woman in Canadian history to lead a national election campaign. She directed the 1997 national election campaign of then

Progressive Conservative Party of Canada The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (PC; ) was a Centrism, centre to centre-right List of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada that existed from 1942 to 2003. From Canadian Confederation in 1867 unti ...

leader Jean Charest. White also sat on the board of directors for the

Canadian International Council The Canadian International Council (CIC; ) is a Canadian think tank on foreign relations. It is an independent, member-based council established to strengthen Canada's role in international affairs. Its goal is to advance debate on international ...

. White was awarded the

Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal () or The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2012 to mark the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession in 1952. There are four versions of the medal: one iss ...

in 2012. On December 13, 2013, White was invested as a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

for her role in "promoting civic dialogue in Canada nd.. social and environmental philanthropy". White was on the board of Tides Canada, the National Theatre School, the

Canadian Institute of International Affairs The Canadian International Council (CIC; ) is a Canadian think tank on foreign relations. It is an independent, member-based council established to strengthen Canada's role in international affairs. Its goal is to advance debate on international ...

, the Southern Africa Education Trust Fund,

Bishop's University Bishop's University () is a small English-language Liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Lennoxville, a borough of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. The founder of the institution was the Anglican Diocese of Quebec, Anglican Bishop of Quebec ...

, and

Ottawa General Hospital The Ottawa Hospital's General Campus is one of three main campuses of The Ottawa Hospital in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. With 569 beds, the General Campus includes The Ottawa Hospital Rehabilitation Centre and the Cancer Centre. The Ottawa General Ho ...

Death

White died from breast cancer in Toronto on February 10, 2024, at the age of 77.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:White, Jodi 1946 births 2024 deaths Deaths from breast cancer in Canada Canadian journalists Carleton University alumni University of Toronto alumni Chiefs of staff of the Canadian Prime Minister's Office Canadian women in federal politics Canadian campaign managers Members of the Order of Canada