Our Team

Wellington Advocacy brings the experience, insight, and network of Canada’s top political and public service professionals to deliver value for partners.

Wellington advisors have: 

Served

6

Canadian Prime Ministers

Served

8

Provincial Premiers

Served

78

Cabinet Ministers

Negotiated

5

Free Trade Agreements

Drafted 

29

Government Budgets 

Strategic Advisory Board

  • Hon. Wayne Wouters, PC, OC

    Hon. Wayne Wouters, P.C., O.C.

    21st Clerk of the Privy Council and Head of the Canadian Public Service

    Wayne Wouters serves as Chair of the Wellington Advocacy Strategic Advisory Board.

    He joins Wellington Advocacy with nearly 40 years of distinguished public service at the highest levels, serving Prime Ministers from both governing parties. He served as Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet from 2009-2014. In this capacity, Mr. Wouters served as the Chief Executive Officer of Canada’s professional public service and acted as Deputy Minister to Canada’s 22nd Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. Stephen Harper. From 2004-2009, Mr. Wouters served as Secretary to the Treasury Board, acting as principal administrator of government programming and expenditure management. Previously, he served as Deputy Minister in several other departments across the public service. On the advice of the Prime Minister Mr. Wouters was appointed by the Governor General as a member of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada in 2014 and appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2017. Mr. Wouters is a sought after advisor to executives and businesses across Canada. He is a Strategic and Policy Advisor at McCarthy Tétrault LLP and holds directorships at BlackBerry Limited, Canadian Utilities Limited, and Foran Mining Corporation.

  • Stephen de Boer

    Stephen de Boer

    Former Ambassador to the World Trade Organization and Foreign Affairs Advisor to the Prime Minister

    Stephen de Boer joins Wellington Advocacy following a distinguished career in the Government of Canada, with senior roles across Canada’s trade, foreign policy and climate policy agendas.

    Most recently, Mr. de Boer served as Deputy Minister and Foreign and Defence Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister from 2023 to 2025.

    Previously, Mr. de Boer served for five years as Canada’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organization, representing Canada in global trade negotiations and dispute settlement.

    From 2015 to 2016, he represented Canada as Ambassador to Poland and Ambassador to Belarus. Earlier in his public service career, Mr. de Boer held senior roles across Global Affairs Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada, including Assistant Deputy Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada’s International Affairs Branch.

    He also served as Director General of the Trade Controls Bureau; Director of the Oceans and Environmental Law Division; Lead Counsel for Canada’s international climate change negotiations; Deputy Chief Negotiator for climate change; and Director General responsible for Canada’s international climate change partnerships.

  • Major General (Ret.) Tammy Harris

    Major-General (Ret.) Tammy Harris

    Major-General (Retired) and Deputy Commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force

    Major-General (Ret.) Tammy Harris is a decorated veteran, proud Canadian, and thought leader. She served her country with distinction throughout her career, holding key positions such as Deputy Commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force, Chief of Staff to the Chief of Defence Staff, Base Commander Borden, and Wing Commander Gander. She was also seconded to the Privy Council Office as a Military Advisor, specializing in defence, security, and issues pertaining to the Middle East and North Africa. Her notable deployments include serving as NATO chief planner for the Kandahar Airfield and Base in 2009. She was also selected as the Champion of Gender Perspectives for the Canadian Armed Forces, a role she expanded internationally. Her academic credentials include a Bachelor of Arts from Acadia University, a Master’s in Defence Studies from the Royal Military College of Canada, and programs at the Canadian Forces Command Staff Course, the National Security Program, and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and Public Policy. Major-General Harris continues to influence national and international security through her roles on the Halifax International Security Forum’s board of directors and the Indo-Pacific Strategy Advisory Committee. As a member of the Strategic Advisory Board, Major-General Harris will provide leadership counsel and mentorship to Wellington Advocacy’s top executives and advisors.

  • C Hogan

    Christine Hogan

    Former Deputy Minister of Environment and Climate Change and International Trade

    Christine Hogan is an accomplished public policy leader with more than three decades experience including in the senior ranks of the Canadian public service.

    She served as Deputy Minister of International Trade and as Foreign and Defence Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister of Canada before becoming Deputy Minister of Environment and Climate Change from 2019 to 2022. From 2016 to 2019, she was Executive Director for Canada, Ireland, and the Caribbean at the World Bank Group.

    Prior to these roles, she held executive-level positions at the Canadian International Development Agency, the Privy Council Office and Environment Canada. Ms. Hogan currently serves as Vice-Chair of the Board of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) and is active on advisory and non-profit Boards.

    Ms. Hogan holds a Bachelor of Public Administration from Carleton University, is a recipient of the Bissett Alumni Award for Distinctive Contributions to the Public Sector, and a former Yale University World Fellow.

  • SM Headshot

    Scott McCord

    Senior Advisor to Corporate and Public Service Executives

    Scott McCord is a respected Canadian entrepreneur and trusted advisor with over four decades of experience providing counsel at the most senior levels of Canada’s political and business communities, including Prime Ministers, Cabinet Ministers and CEOs. McCord is widely known for having built a highly specialized travel and logistics business serving corporate and public-sector leaders across the political spectrum.

    Prior to his career in the private sector, McCord held senior government roles at Transport, Defence, Procurement, Employment and Immigration, as well as with the Free Trade Operations Group in the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office.

    His unique relationships and sharp insight navigating the intersection of government and industry make him a sought-after advisor and mentor on complex strategic and operational challenges.

    Biographie

    Scott McCord est un entrepreneur canadien réputé et un conseiller de confiance qui compte plus de quatre décennies d’expérience dans le domaine du conseil auprès des plus hauts responsables des milieux politiques et d’affaires canadiens, notamment des premiers ministres, des ministres et des PDG. McCord est largement reconnu pour avoir bâti une entreprise hautement spécialisée dans les domaines du voyage et de a logistique, au service des dirigeants des secteurs privé et public de tous horizons politiques.

    Avant de se lancer dans le secteur privé, Scott a occupé des postes de haut niveau au sein du gouvernement dans les domaines des transports, de la défense, des marchés publics, de l’emploi et de l’immigration, ainsi qu’au sein du Groupe des opérations de libre-échange au sein du bureau du vice-premier ministre.

    Ses relations uniques et sa perspicacité aiguë, qui lui permettent de naviguer à la croisée du gouvernement et de l’industrie, font de lui un conseiller et un mentor très sollicité pour relever des défis stratégiques et opérationnels complexes.

  • Hon. Scott J. Morrison

    Hon. Scott J. Morrison

    30th Prime Minister Of Australia

    The Honourable Scott Morrison served as Australia’s 30th Prime Minister, from 2018 to 2022.

    Prime Minister Morrison was the architect of the AUKUS trilateral defense agreement between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States and a founding member of the Quad Leader’s Dialogue, a leader level diplomatic partnership committed to supporting a prosperous Indo-Pacific, and advancing trade cooperation between Australia, India, Japan, and the US.

    Mr. Morrison also negotiated the first post-Brexit Free Trade Agreement between Australia and the United Kingdom. He oversaw the completion of several diplomatic, trade and defense agreements, especially in the Indo-Pacific, including Australia‘s first-ever bilateral defense forces reciprocal access agreement with Japan.

    Under his leadership, Australia’s economy outperformed all G7 and OECD nations during the COVID-19 recovery, achieved record-low unemployment, and was one of nine countries in the world to maintain a AAA credit rating. His government prioritized trade diversification, reducing reliance on a single market and expanding Indo-Pacific opportunities.

    Mr. Morrison served in the House of Representatives from 2007-2024, and was a senior Cabinet Minister for five years, including three years as Federal Treasurer (2015-2018) where he focused on tax reform, foreign investment, banking regulation and governance and development of Australia’s FinTech sector. Mr. Morrison also served as a Cabinet Minister for Social Security and Immigration and Border Protection. Recognized for his global security and investment resilience leadership, he was awarded Chief Commander of the United States Legion of Merit and the Grotius Prize for International Relations.

    In addition to serving on Wellington Advocacy’s Strategic Advisory Board, Prime Minister Morrison is Vice Chairman of American Global Strategies, advising businesses on trade, investment, and economic security. He is also a member of several advisory boards in the private equity sector, the International Democracy Union, the Center for a New American Security, and the Hudson Institute China Center.

  • TM

    Hon. Thomas Mulcair, P.C.

    35th Leader of the Official Opposition in the House of Commons and previous Quebec Environment Minister

    Mr. Mulcair is a lawyer and political leader with a government and public service career spanning nearly fifty years. He is a sought-after political analyst who appears frequently in both English- and French-language media across Canada. 

    First elected as a Federal Member of Parliament for the New Democratic Party in a 2007 by-election (Outremont), he became the first New Democrat ever to be elected in a general election in his province of Quebec. Appointed as the Quebec lieutenant of his party, he was one of the architects of the “Orange Wave” which saw the New Democrats claim Official Opposition status in the Canadian House of Commons for the first time in history. In 2012, he became the leader of the party.

    Mr. Mulcair came to Federal politics after serving three mandates as a provincial member of the Quebec National Assembly (Chomedey, Laval) (1994-2007). From 2003 to 2006, he served as Environment Minister in the Liberal government of Premier Jean Charest and was responsible for implementing Sustainable Development legislation, described as the most avant-garde in North America and still considered cutting-edge to this day.

    Having devoted his career to public service, Mr. Mulcair was also president of the Office des professions du Québec (1987-1993), the body governing Quebec’s professional orders. He was the first Canadian elected to Board of Directors of CLEAR, the American Council on Licensure, Enforcement and Regulation. Pursuant to the adoption of NAFTA, he lectured widely on its effects on the regulation of professions, including for the American Bar Association and the American Medical Association.

    As a lawyer he has worked in the Legislative Affairs branch of the Quebec Justice department and at the Conseil de la langue française and in private law practice for ten years. He was in charge of the revision of the French version of the laws of Manitoba pursuant to the Supreme Court decision. He was Elected régional Secretary of the SPGQ, the Union of Quebec Government professionals, notably during the strike of 1982-1983.

    Visiting Professor in the political science Department at l’Université de Montréal from 2018 to 2022 where he taught a Master’s level course in Environment and Sustainable Development, he has also taught at UQTR, Concordia and St-Lawrence College.

    He is an Expert in Residence at the University of Quebec’s school of public administration (ÉNAP) and a Senior Fellow of the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights.

    He was chairman of the board of Jour de la Terre (Earth Day Canada) from January 2018 to September 2024. 

    Biographie

    M. Mulcair est avocat et chef politique, avec une carrière au sein des gouvernements et de la fonction publique s’étendant sur près de cinquante ans. Analyste politique recherché, il intervient fréquemment dans les médias anglophones et francophones partout au Canada.

    Élu pour la première fois député fédéral du Nouveau Parti démocratique lors d’une élection partielle en 2007 (Outremont), il est devenu le premier néo-démocrate à être élu lors d’une élection générale au Québec. Nommé lieutenant québécois de son parti, il a été l’un des architectes de la « vague orange », qui a permis au NPD de former l’Opposition officielle à la Chambre des communes pour la première fois de son histoire. En 2012, il est devenu chef du parti.

    M. Mulcair est arrive en politique fédérale après avoir exercé trois mandats comme député à l’Assemblée nationale du Québec (Chomedey, Laval) de 1994 à 2007. De 2003 à 2006, il a été ministre de l’Environnement dans le gouvernement libéral du premier ministre Jean Charest, où il a été responsable de la mise en œuvre de la législation sur le développement durable, décrite comme la plus avant-gardiste en Amérique du Nord et encore considérée aujourd’hui comme une référence.

    Tout au long de sa carrière consacrée au service public, M. Mulcair a également été président de l’Office des professions du Québec (1987-1993), l’organisme responsable de l’encadrement des ordres professionnels. Il a été le premier Canadien élu au conseil d’administration de CLEAR (Council on Licensure, Enforcement and Regulation). À la suite de l’adoption de l’ALENA, il a donné de nombreuses conférences sur ses effets en matière de réglementation des professions, notamment pour l’American Bar Association et l’American Medical Association.

    À titre d’avocat, il a travaillé à la Direction des affaires législatives du ministère de la Justice du Québec, au Conseil de la langue française et en pratique privée pendant dix ans. Il a également été responsable de la révision de la version française des lois du Manitoba à la suite d’une décision de la Cour suprême du Canada. Il a été élu secrétaire régional du SPGQ, le syndicat des professionnels du gouvernement du Québec, notamment durant la grève de 1982-1983.

    Professeur invite au département de science politique de l’Université de Montréal de 2018 à 2022, il y a enseigné un cours de maîtrise en environnement et développement durable. Il a également enseigné à l’UQTR, à l’Université Concordia et au Collège St. Lawrence.

    Il est expert en résidence à l’École nationale d’administration publique (ÉNAP) de l’Université du Québec et “Senior Fellow” au Centre Raoul Wallenberg pour les droits de la personne.

    Il a été president du conseil d’administration de Jour de la Terre (Earth Day Canada) de janvier 2018 à septembre 2024.

  • CP Headshot

    Hon. Christian Paradis, P.C.

    Former Minister of Public Works and Government Services, Natural Resources, and Industry

    Christian Paradis is a member of the Quebec Bar and brings extensive experience from both public service and the private sector

    He served as Member of Parliament for Mégantic–L’Érable from 2006 to 2015 and held several senior Cabinet portfolios, including Public Works and Government Services, Natural Resources, Industry, and International Development and La Francophonie. He also served as Secretary of State for Agriculture and as Quebec Lieutenant to the Prime Minister from 2008 to 2013.

    Following his time in government, he joined GardaWorld as Senior Vice President.

    Since 2020, Mr. Paradis has worked as a senior consultant and corporate director in Québec. 

    Biographie

    Christian Paradis est membre du Barreau du Québec et est doté d’une vaste expérience acquise tant dans la fonction publique que dans le secteur privé.

    Il a été député de Mégantic–L’Érable de 2006 à 2015 et a occupé plusieurs postes ministériels de haut niveau, notamment aux Travaux publics et Services gouvernementaux, aux Ressources naturelles, à l’Industrie, ainsi qu’au Développement international et à la Francophonie. Il a également occupé les postes de secrétaire d’État (Agriculture) et de lieutenant du premier ministre au Québec de 2008 à 2013.

    À l’issue de son mandat au sein du gouvernement, il a rejoint GardaWorld en tant que vice-président principal.

    Depuis 2020, M. Paradis exerce les fonctions de consultant principal et d’administrateur de sociétés au Québec.  

  • Bruno Saccomani

    Bruno Saccomani

    Former Canadian Ambassador To Jordan And Iraq and Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superintendent

    Bruno Saccomani is a seasoned expert in global and national security and law enforcement, with over 30 years of service to Canada. Formerly Canada’s Ambassador to Jordan and Iraq, he led defence, security, trade, and global health initiatives. His career with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police culminated as Superintendent and Officer-in-Charge of the Prime Minister’s Protection Detail, overseeing international security operations. Bruno’s background in intelligence, national security, and global investigations underscores his expertise in safeguarding national interests.


Our Team

  • Andrea van Vugt

    Andrea van Vugt

    Chief Operating Officer & Practice Lead, Trade

    Andrea has more than 20 years of experience working in the public and private sectors, advising some of North America’s largest businesses on bilateral and trilateral trade issues. Andrea was the Foreign Affairs and Trade Advisor to the Prime Minister of Canada where she played an instrumental role in the conclusion of the Canada-Europe trade negotiations. Andrea also served as Chief of Staff to the Minister of International Trade where she oversaw the conclusion of trade talks with Ukraine, Israel, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Andrea will navigate complicated transborder activities for your organization, including trade and tariff rules.

  • Ann Penner

    Ann Penner

    Vice President

    Ann brings to Wellington Advocacy decades of comprehensive experience in the development/implementation of trade legislation, regulations, and policies at the domestic and international levels. While serving as a senior public servant in the Government of Canada, Ann has represented Canada at the World Trade Organization (WTO), the United Nations (UN), and at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). Most recently, Ann served for over six years as a Permanent Member of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT) where she presided over complex cases in the areas of trade remedies, procurement, customs, and excise appeals. Ann also served as co-chair of the CITT Outreach Committee and helped to create the CITT Advisory Committee: a body of legal and industry representatives tasked with providing stakeholder insights and recommendations to the Tribunal. Prior to joining Wellington Advocacy, Ann has served as a strategic consultant for numerous high-profile clients on issues related to international trade policy and strategic communications.

  • Bonnie Kersch

    Bonnie Kersch

    Consultant

    Bonnie is a seasoned international trade compliance professional with almost two decades of experience guiding businesses through the complexities of customs regulations in Canada, the United States, and abroad. She provides strategic counsel on tariff classification, customs valuation, country-of-origin determinations, and the application of free trade agreements, and helps clients mitigate risk and reduce duty exposure across global supply chains. Bonnie’s deep technical expertise spans a wide range of industries, including consumer goods, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and machinery. She has led large-scale compliance initiatives at both the corporate and consulting levels and is especially adept at navigating regulatory challenges related to trade remedies, such as anti-dumping and countervailing duties.

  • Kayla Headshot

    Kayla McBride

    Consultant

    Kayla is a government relations and policy professional with advanced training in international affairs and economic policy. She holds a master of arts in international affairs with a designation in international economic policy from Canada’s leading international affairs program, and a bachelor of global and international studies with a concentration in law and a minor in economics. Kayla’s work centers on trade and economic policy, with expertise in Canada’s trade framework and the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement. She brings experience supporting policy development through policy writing and analysis, translating complex issues into clear and actionable advice.


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