Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau isn’t talking about how his close friend Tom Pitfield got the job of managing the Liberal Party’s database.
Asked on Thursday in Brampton, Ontario why Pitfield’s firm, Data Sciences, got the contract over what the party calls its “Liberalist” database, Trudeau chose to expatiate on how the Liberal Party reaches out to Canadians through a pan-communication strategy that incorporates old and new media.
“The Liberal Party of Canada reached out to more Canadians than had ever been reached out to in the past,” Trudeau said.
“Through a multiple of ways — digital, social media, advertising, door-to-door connections — we were more effective than any other political party has ever been at gathering people into a movement that engaged them in the political process, that used the cutting-edge tools to build that kind of conversation and dialogue.”
CTV News reported Wednesday that Trudeau crony Pitfield will head up the Liberalist database that connects the Liberals with voters.
Pitfield and his wife, Anna Gainey, both carry heavy Liberal Party bonafides.
Gainey is the president of the Liberal Party — but says she has recused herself from any business dealings with her husband’s company.
Pitfield also works for Liberal causes through Training For Progress, a program that he established in 2015 for the express purpose of training students in the arts of “progressive” political activism.
Pitfield no longer has an active role on the organization’s board according to a Training For Progress spokesman, Meghan Mcachern. But the online curriculum uses the Liberalist program to teach students how to track the names and contact information of supporters and potential converts.
“The programs we do are open to volunteers and campaigners of all stripes, from all levels of politics and government and a variety of not-for-profit groups. We also work with a number of different platforms and tools that help connect with Canadians,” Mcachern told CTV News.
Pitfield also runs Canada2020, a liberal think-tank that hosts policy conferences featuring — Liberal government cabinet ministers.
None of this is lost on Canada’s Conservative official opposition.
“Canadians will look at this overall and see a common thread here, quite frankly, that the prime minister’s friends seem well oiled and taken care of,” said Conservative MP Alex Nuttall.
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