
Marci Surkes
Vice Chair
- Group:Board of Directors
Marci Surkes
Vice Chair
Marci Surkes spent 15 years serving as a political aide on Parliament Hill, most recently in senior roles advising the Prime Minister and members of the federal cabinet. As Executive Director of Policy and Cabinet Affairs in the Prime Minister’s Office from 2019-2022, Ms. Surkes led a team that provided strategic advice to the Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, on policy spanning the entirety of federal jurisdiction. She collaborated closely with officials in the Privy Council Office to implement the government’s mandate through setting the agenda for Cabinet. Ms. Surkes was centrally involved in the federal government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the development of the new national system for Early Learning and Child Care, and the transition for the return to government following the 2021 general election. She acted as Chief of Staff in the PMO during the writ period.
Prior to her appointment in PMO, Ms. Surkes served from 2015 to 2019 as Chief of Staff to the Hon. Ralph Goodale, then Minister of Public Safety. She helped to develop legislation (Bill C-59) to establish a renewed framework promoting heightened transparency for federal security agencies and institutions. She also played a leadership role in coordinating the federal response to emergencies including the 2016 wildfires in Ft. McMurray.
From 2007 to 2015, Ms. Surkes held several senior positions serving the Liberal caucus and leadership in the House of Commons. She led the policy team for the federal Liberal campaign during the 2019 general election and was a key contributor to the electoral platforms in 2019, 2015 and 2011, spearheading the use of gender-based analysis tools for policy endorsed by those campaigns.
Additionally, Ms. Surkes has been a fellow in the Clayton H. Riddell Graduate Program in Political Management at Carleton University since 2017, where she regularly engages with students as a guest lecturer and mentor.
Before her career in politics, Ms. Surkes worked as a student journalist with the Ottawa Citizen and the CBC.
Originally from Montreal, Ms. Surkes holds a B.C.L. and an L.L.B. from the Faculty of Law at McGill University and a BA (Hons) in Politics and Journalism from Brandeis University.