John Laschinger is a Canadian

political strategist Political consulting is a form of consulting that consists primarily of advising and assisting political campaigns. Although the most important role of political consultants is arguably the development and production of mass media (largely televisi ...

and author. He is best known for his work as a campaign manager, organizing election campaigns and party leadership bids for a variety of candidates. He has written several books, including ''Leaders & lesser mortals: Backroom politics in Canada'' and ''Campaign Confessions: Tales from the War Rooms of Politics''.

Career

Conservative campaigns and early work

In 1983, Laschinger was campaign manager for

John Crosbie John Carnell Crosbie (January 30, 1931 – January 10, 2020) was a Canadian provincial and federal politician who served as the 12th lieutenant governor of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Prior to being lieutenant governor, he served as a ...

, a candidate for leadership of the

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 ...

. In 1984, he was campaign manager for the Larry Grossman in his bid for leadership of the

Ontario Progressive Conservative Party The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (PC; ), often shortened to the Ontario PC Party, or simply the PCs, colloquially known as the Tories, is a centre-right political party in Ontario, Canada. During its uninterrupted governance from 1 ...

, an effort he repeated for Grossman in the party's 1985 leadership campaign. Laschinger was a key organizer for

Belinda Stronach Belinda Caroline Stronach (born May 2, 1966) is a prominent Canadian businesswoman, philanthropist, and former politician. She served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 2004 to 2008, initially as a Conservative and later as a Liberal after c ...

's bid to lead the

Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC; , ), sometimes referred to as the Tories, is a Government of Canada, federal List of political parties in Canada, political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main Right-wing ...

in 2004, and

John Tory John Howard Tory (born May 28, 1954) is a Canadian lawyer, broadcaster, businessman, and former politician who served as the 65th mayor of Toronto from 2014 to 2023. He served as leader of the Official Opposition in Ontario from 2005 to 2007 ...

's bid to lead the

Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (PC; ), often shortened to the Ontario PC Party, or simply the PCs, colloquially known as the Tories, is a Centre-right politics, centre-right political party in Ontario, Canada. During its uninterr ...

also in 2004. He then worked as campaign manager for the

in the 2007 general election. Laschinger also worked on other conservative campaigns in Canada, including New Brunswick and Manitoba. In late 1990, Laschinger worked with a group of Canadians led by

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood, Ontario, Ainslie Wood and Westdale, Ontario, Westd ...

professor Howard Aster on a trip to

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

to teach political leaders in the newly independent country about how political parties operate in democracies.

Progressive campaigns and municipal politics

Known for working with Conservatives, Laschinger was an important figure in the

New Democrat New Democrats may refer to: * New Democratic Party, a social democratic party in Canada * New Democrats (United States), the ideological centrist faction of the Democratic Party ** New Democrat Coalition, the related caucus in the United States H ...

-aligned David Miller's bid to become

Mayor of Toronto The mayor of Toronto is the head of Toronto City Council and chief executive officer of the Municipal government of Toronto, municipal government. The mayor is elected alongside city council every four years on the fourth Monday of October; t ...

in 2003 and was his campaign manager in 2006. During the

2010 Toronto mayoral election The 2010 Toronto mayoral election was held on October 25, 2010, to elect a mayor of the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The mayor's seat was open for the first time since the 2003 Toronto election due to the announcement by incumbent mayor ...

, he was campaign manager for

Adam Giambrone Adam Giambrone (born March 8, 1977) is a Canadian transportation consultant and retired politician who served on Toronto City Council from 2003 to 2010, representing Ward 18 Davenport. Giambrone served as the chair of the Toronto Transit Commiss ...

until his departure from the race, which led Laschinger to join Miller's deputy mayor

Joe Pantalone Joe Pantalone (born February 22, 1952) is a retired Canadian politician who served on Toronto City Council and Metro Council from 1980 to 2010. Pantalone was the deputy mayor of Toronto from 2003 to 2010, and represented the Trinity area as a cou ...

in his unsuccessful run for mayor. In

2014 Toronto mayoral election The 2014 Toronto mayoral election took place on October 27, 2014. Incumbent Mayor of Toronto, Mayor Rob Ford initially ran for re-election, but dropped out after being diagnosed with a tumour - instead running for city council in Ward 2. Regis ...

, Laschinger managed his 50th campaign, working as campaign director for former MP and councillor

Olivia Chow Olivia Chow (born March 24, 1957) is a Canadian politician who has been the 66th and current mayor of Toronto since July 12, 2023. Previously, Chow served as the New Democratic Party (NDP) member of Parliament (MP) for Trinity—Spadina fro ...

References

Canadian political consultants Living people Year of birth missing (living people) {{Ontario-politician-stub