Gerald Butts
Gerald Michael Butts (born July 8, 1971) is a Canadian political consultant who served as the Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau from November 4, 2015 until his resignation on February 18, 2019.[2][3][4] From 2008 to 2012, he was president and CEO of the World Wildlife Fund Canada,[5] part of a global conservation organization. In 2014, Maclean's magazine declared Butts to be the fourteenth most powerful Canadian.[6] As the former Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Butts was praised as the architect behind the Liberal Party of Canada platform that led to its victory in October 2015 and was one of the most senior staffers in the Office of the Prime Minister, along with Katie Telford.[4]
Gerald Butts
Vacant
Michael Russill
Jodi (Heimpel) Butts[1]
2
Westboro, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Activist, consultant
Early life and education[edit]
Butts grew up in the Bridgeport neighbourhood of Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, with three older brothers and one older sister.[7] He is the son of Charles William "Charlie" Butts, a coal miner[8] who was 56 years old when Butts was born and retired when Butts was 6 years old, and Rita Monica (Yorke) Butts, a nurse[8] and a first-generation Canadian daughter of a Ukrainian father and a Polish mother.[9][10] He attended Bridgeport School (now closed) and then St. Michael's High School (now closed).
He received a B.A. and M.A. in English literature from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. It was at McGill that he was introduced to Justin Trudeau by a mutual friend.[7][11] There, he was also elected president of the Canadian University Society for Intercollegiate Debate and won the national debating championships two years in a row.[7] He briefly attended York University to pursue a Ph.D.[10]
Personal life[edit]
Butts is the nephew of the former Canadian senator Mary Alice "Peggy" Butts, whom he cites as a major influence on him.[23]
He is married to Jodi (Heimpel) Butts, a lawyer,[24] and they have two children, Aidan Ignatius (born May 6, 2006)[1] and Ava Augusta (born December 1, 2007).[25] They resided in Toronto for 13 years until the family relocated in the summer of 2016 to Ottawa. Butts currently resides at Champlain Park area of Westboro, Ottawa.[23]