Chrystia Freeland hires veteran Liberal insider as new chief of staff

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Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has hired a long-time Liberal Party insider and former top adviser to ex-Ontario premier Kathleen Wynne as her new chief of staff.

Andrew Bevan, who served as chief of staff and principal secretary to Ms. Wynne until her defeat in the 2018 provincial election, is replacing Leslie Church, who is considering a run for the Liberal nomination in the traditionally safe Liberal riding of Toronto-St. Paul’s.

He will serve as chief of staff to Ms. Freeland in both of her cabinet roles, and will take up his duties as she prepares for a fall economic update in November.

As chief of staff to the Finance Minister, Mr. Bevan will play a key role in setting policy priorities for federal budgets and overseeing how they are communicated to the public. The government is facing intense political scrutiny over rising living costs and a housing shortage.

“Mr. Bevan brings with him decades of experience in senior roles in both the public and private sectors, and he will play an important role in the government’s plan to build more homes, stabilize prices, and create good careers for Canadians from coast to coast to coast,” Ms. Freeland’s press secretary Katherine Cuplinskas said in a statement.

Mr. Bevan is a close friend of Katie Telford, the Prime Minister’s chief of staff. He has recently served as an adviser to Mohamad Fakih, the executive chair and president of Paramount Fine Foods, a Toronto-based chain of Middle Eastern restaurants.

In September, Ms. Freeland named a new leadership team at the Finance Department. She appointed veteran public servant Chris Forbes to the deputy minister post vacated earlier this year when Michael Sabia, who had long been a key source of policy advice to the federal cabinet, left Ottawa to head Hydro-Québec.

Ms. Church has moved back and forth between the private sector and political staff positions for the Liberals on Parliament Hill, both in government and opposition. The urban riding of Toronto-St. Paul’s has been held by Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett since 1997. She is not planning to run in the next election.