Mark Marissen

Mark Allan Marissen (born 1966, in St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada) is a senior strategist for the Liberal Party of Canada. He is currently a VP of Vision Critical, a public opinion and market research firm headquartered in Vancouver ^[1] and was chairman of the Burrard Group,^[2] a strategic communications and government relations firm he operated from 1998 to 2011.

Marissen graduated from Carleton University with a Bachelor of Arts in political science, and also attended Simon Fraser University.

Marissen has a long record of involvement in the Liberal Party, joining the party in early high school. Upon graduating from Carleton University, Marissen served as the party's national youth director in the early 1990s, and as an organizer for the national Liberal campaign during the 1993 federal election under then-leader Jean Chrétien. Subsequently, Marissen became a political advisor to then cabinet minister David Anderson during his tenures as Minister of National Revenue, Minister of Transport, and Minister of Fisheries and Oceans.

Marissen was the British Columbia campaign chair for Paul Martin's successful bid for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada and then served as the federals' British Columbia campaign co-chair in the 2004 and 2006 general elections.

In 2006 Marissen served as the national campaign manager for Stéphane Dion's successful campaign to become leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. It was a come-from-behind victory which many observers viewed as an historic upset. The vote took place at the 2006 leadership convention in Montreal on December 2, 2006.

On December 22, 2006 Dion appointed Marissen and Nancy Girard as national campaign co-chairs for the Liberal campaign in the federal election which took place October 14, 2008. While no one predicted victory for the Liberal Party, and Prime Minister Harper was held to a second minority, Mr. Dion was widely criticized for his performance. The election result was one of the worst in Canadian history for the Liberal Party, eventually forcing Dion's resignation as the leader of the party.

Following Dion's resignation, Marissen reportedly decided to support Michael Ignatieff for Liberal Party leader.^[3] Ignatieff was confirmed as Leader at a national convention in Vancouver in late April, 2009.

Marissen resides in Vancouver, British Columbia, and has one child by his ex-wife, current British Columbia Premier Christy Clark. Marissen's older brother is professor of music Michael Marissen, who teaches at Swarthmore College.

References

1. ^ Vision Critical appoints new Business Development Specialist
2. ^ The Burrard Group
3. ^ Ignatieff picks up key Dion backers, Juliet O'Neill, Canwest News Service, November 12 2008

• "Politics 'in the Blood' for Liberal insider", National Post, October 6, 2008
• "Can party's shrewd B.C. strategist save Dion?" Vancouver Sun, October 4, 2007
• "On the Mark", BC Business, June, 2007
• "A West Coast Power Player", Vancouver Sun, January 6, 2007
• "Drug Raids Highlight Political Links", Globe and Mail, December 31, 2003

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Name	Marissen, Mark
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Date of birth	1966
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