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Carney’s deputy chief of staff quits to seek Liberal nomination in B.C.
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney’s deputy chief of staff Braeden Caley announced his resignation on Sunday evening, saying he would seek the Liberal nomination for a seat in British Columbia.
The only vacant seat in B.C. currently is for North Vancouver–Capilano, previously held by former Liberal minister Jonathan Wilkinson, who resigned after he was appointed ambassador to the European Union in April .
“As I consider a new way to contribute to this team, I’m inspired that this is a country that keeps arriving at places that many have doubted we could ever reach,” Caley wrote. “British Columbia has always been at the very heart of that journey,” Caley said in a letter addressed to his colleagues.
“I am stepping away as Deputy Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister, with immediate effect, in consideration of seeking a nomination to stand for Parliament in my home province of British Columbia.”
Before his current role, Caley also served as director of communications for the Liberal Party of Canada for six years and as national campaign director during the 2025 election campaign.
Caley also spent some time in local politics, working for former Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson, who is now minister of housing and infrastructure.
Caley’s resignation follows other changes in the Prime Minister’s Office, including the recent appointment of Carney’s principal secretary Thomas Pitfield to the Senate last week .
In that same announcement, Carney also appointed Conservative MP Richard Martel to the upper chamber, which means Martel’s Quebec seat in Chicoutimi–Le Fjord which he has held since 2018, will also be vacant.
There are now seven open seats requiring by-elections in the coming months, three of which were held by Liberals and four by opposition parties.
Among them is former Liberal MP Nate Erskine-Smith’s vacated riding of Beaches–East York in Ontario and Bloc Québécois MP Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay’s riding of Saint-Hyacinthe-Bagot-Acton.
Conservative MP Cathay Wagantall, Liberal MP Steven Guilbeault and Quebec NDP MP Alexandre Boulerice are also widely expected to resign their seats this summer.
In June, Carney told reporters he will not call the by-elections all at once. Rules set by Elections Canada state a by-election must be called within six months of a House of Commons seat being vacated.
Liberals in the riding of Beaches–East York in Toronto have launched a short nomination race that currently has four candidates.
On Monday, one of the candidates John Tory Jr. announced his decision to suspend his campaign. The son of former Toronto mayor John Tory cited the condensed timeline of the race as one of the reasons.
Claire Seaborn, former chief of staff to Wilkinson while he was minister of natural resources and energy, is one of the candidates vying for the Toronto-area nomination.
The riding is a Liberal stronghold, with Erskine-Smith winning the last election with over 67 per cent of the popular vote.
National Post
jgowling@postmedia.com
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