COLUMN: On Parliament Hill – Why not a Canadian to fill PMO job?

Perhaps the name Maia Johnson is familiar to you. If not, it should be. Ms. Johnson now holds one of the most senior positions in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), having been appointed to the newly created position of chief operating officer (COO) in July. Remarkably, this appointment received little public attention despite the responsibility that comes with it. The lack of public scrutiny is concerning, and Canadians deserve to know more.

Never before has this position existed within the PMO. That in itself is not necessarily cause for concern. What is noteworthy is who has been appointed to fill it. Ms. Johnson is new to Canada. She is an American with ties to prominent American Democrat political campaigns. According to the Toronto Sun, Johnson was associated with the campaigns of former First Lady Hillary Clinton, former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris. Of those connections, her role in Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign appears to be the most publicly documented. These facts raise legitimate questions about the creation of this powerful new position, the role Ms. Johnson is expected to play within the PMO, and the process by which she was selected.

Further, given the current state of Canada-U.S. relations, she is seemingly not the candidate best positioned for negotiations with President Trump.

Yet, she remains directly involved in Canada’s relationship with the United States. Johnson, the Democrat operative advising Prime Minister Carney on Canada-U.S. trade, campaigned against Donald Trump in several presidential races. Let that sink in.

As Toronto Sun columnist Brian Lilley observed, the appointment “is reminiscent of the Canadian Embassy in Washington hiring a Democratic lobbying firm to teach employees how to read conservative American media and how to speak to Republicans.”

Perhaps most troubling is how little Canadians were told about Maia Johnson’s new position. Public awareness of Johnson’s senior position in the PMO came not through a government announcement but through the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner. Johnson’s appointment came to public attention only after the commissioner issued notice of a $200 fine for “failing to file routine disclosures required of all public office holders.” Globe and Mail reporter Robyn Urback Levitz subsequently reported back in July that, although the fine had been paid, Johnson’s disclosure statement was still listed as “in progress.”

This raises an obvious question: Had the required disclosures been filed within the 60-day deadline, would Canadians have known about Johnson’s appointment to the PMO at all?

And so, Canadians are left asking another question: why is it that only an American has the needed qualifications to fill a newly invented position in the highest level of government in the country? She is a registered Democrat and holds this newly created position which carries significant influence over the PMO.

There are legitimate questions surrounding her security clearances and status in Canada. If she is not a Canadian citizen, what security clearances does she hold and what type of access to sensitive government information does she have? Is Johnson considered a temporary foreign worker?

Few reporters have made several inquiries about Johnson. One reporter concluded that Johnson is a bit of a mystery. Another reporter’s inquiry resulted in the PMO declining to comment further.

A deeper look at Johnson’s background reveals that her relationship with PM Mark Carney predates her role in the PMO. Their professional connection reaches back to the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), an initiative established under Carney’s leadership when he served as the United Nations Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance. In a 2022 lecture on environmental governance, Carney acknowledged in the footnotes, Maia Johnson’s contribution to his paper.

Johnson later worked on Carney’s Liberal leadership campaign. She also worked for the co-chair of GFANZ, Michael Bloomberg who is the former mayor of New York City, and the head of Hawkfish. These connections place Johnson within Carney’s climate-finance inner network.

This is bigger than a government appointment, even if it’s one of the biggest non-elected jobs in Canada.

This is about accountability, transparency, and leadership.

Canadians should not have to piece together information from newspaper investigations, ethics filings and political commentary to understand who has the prime minister’s ear and who occupies positions of influence at the centre of government.

The prime minister is accountable to Canadians. Those entrusted with power have a responsibility to be transparent about who they appoint, what authority those individuals possess, and what access they have to sensitive government information.

Canada’s relationship with the United States is too important to be clouded by unanswered questions about political affiliations, foreign connections or the circumstances surrounding senior appointments.

Canadians deserve clarity. They deserve transparency. And above all, they deserve to know that the people exercising influence at the highest levels of their government are there because they are the best qualified to serve Canada and Canadians.