Brent Colbert

Brent Colbert (pronounced Bren Col-Bear) (born November 28, 1969) is a Canadian conservative public policy advisor.

Life and career

Colbert was born in Gatineau(Hull), Quebec. His career in politics began in Ottawa in 1984, working for the newly elected government of Brian Mulroney as a summer student. He held various positions until the government was defeated in 1993.

In 1995 Colbert moved to Toronto to work for the Mike Harris government at Queen's Park. He was an advisor to Minister of Health Jim Wilson, Minister of Environment Norman Sterling and Minister of Community, Family and Children's’ Services Brenda Elliott over an 8 year period.

In the fall of 2006 he was hired to be policy director for the Larry O'Brien for mayor campaign. O'Brien was in third place behind incumbent mayor Bob Chiarelli and former regional councillor Alex Munter. By developing a more consistent message for O'Brien, Colbert was credited with helping the third place candidate move from 7% in the polls to capturing 47% of the vote on election day - enough to win the election. Colbert is currently employed in the office of mayor O'Brien as his chief policy advisor. Since other influential members O'Brien's staff have left (his former chief of staff Walter Robinson, his communications advisor Mike Patton, and David Gibbons), Colbert is now the only remaining member of O'Brien's election team still working for the mayor.

Views

Colbert is a passionate advocate for children's issues including access to treatment for autistic children, parental choice for child care and expanding access to adoption.

Colbert has appeared on several radio, television, and newspaper reports providing comment on contentious issues.

Colbert spent three years as a stay-at-home father, writer and editor of Colbert Report Blog, a daily commentary on the issues of the day.

External links

* [http://brentcolbert.com/blog Colbert Report]
* [http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/city/story.html?id=a2bb7cbd-0521-48fc-bd58-c4b7450b0e13&k=90604 "O'Brien's inner circle", Ottawa Citizen, December 1, 2006]
* [http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/city/story.html?id=c05718d8-4a59-4ffb-b0e2-d89e7132f874 "A Team with Big Dreams", Ottawa Citizen, Friday April 18, 2008]