 |
||
Philip is one of the leading public policy practitioners in Ontario. He brings to his clients more than 20 years of experience in government, politics and issue advocacy. Phil has helped to affect major policy change in the province from inside and outside government. During two highly successful stints at Queen’s Park, he played critical roles in the elections of the only two Liberal Premiers of the post-WWII era. His balanced consensus-based approached gained him wide respect from senior bureaucrats, non partisan industry and NGO observers and key strategists for the other parties. As Chief of Staff for the Leader of the Official Opposition, Dalton McGuinty, from the fall of 1999 through the successful Liberal election in October 2003, Phil was the most senior political advisor to the Leader. As organizational head of the Liberal Caucus Service Bureau, he managed a staff of more than 50 political professionals. Phil played a leading role in the development of the Liberal brand identity and campaign strategy for the 2003 election and led the policy team which crafted the election platform. Following his departure to form Excelsior, Phil was retained as Special Advisor to the Premier regarding strategic and operational issues for the Liberal government’s transition. Premier McGuinty stated publicly that “Phil has played an invaluable role in developing the team and the plan that has been embraced so vigorously by the people of Ontario. He will always have my thanks and trust.” Phil offers clients a unique combination of private sector advocacy success with public policy experience. During his nine-year term as President and CEO of a major Ontario industry association, he achieved positive results in very different environments under Liberal, NDP and PC governments. |
And as Director of Policy in the Office of the Premier of Ontario and a key policy advisor in Opposition, Phil was an important part of the successes of the David Peterson administration from 1982-89. Among other accomplishments, he played a formative role with the Premier’s Council on Science and Technology and served on Council missions to Japan and Germany. He was intimately involved in the development of numerous Throne Speeches, Budgets and major policy statements, and was Policy Director for the Ontario Liberal Party’s highly successful 1987 election campaign. From 1989 to 1990, Phil served on secondment to the Ontario Public Service as Acting Director of the Technology Policy Branch of the then-Ministry of Industry, Trade and Technology, gaining valuable insight into the workings of the civil service. In addition to his wide-ranging experience in politics and the private sector, Phil holds a Master’s degree in Political Science, specializing in Public Policy, from the University of Hawaii, and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Waterloo. Work Experience Prior to Counsel:
|
 |
   |
Philip Dewan is a founding principal of Counsel Public Affairs Inc., having merged his previous successful consulting practice, The Excelsior Consulting Group Inc., with Suasion Public Affairs Management Inc. to form Counsel in November 2004.