To navigate the intricate and ever-evolving landscape of Canadian politics and government, you need knowledge, experience, a nuanced understanding of public sentiment, and a well-lit path to the policy- and decision-makers who can enact change, take action and provide the solutions and outcomes you need to win.
You need a NorthStar.
Our Team
Built for the Rooms Where Decisions are Made.
NorthStar is built on a simple competitive advantage: our team knows how to work across the political spectrum. Our partners have led national campaigns for both the Liberals and Conservatives, staffed prime ministers and premiers, and led government relations for some of Canada's largest companies. We bring that experience to the policy files and sectors where our team has deep expertise, established relationships, and a track record of getting things done. Our cross-partisan experience means our clients are never dependent on the fortunes of any one party or government — and our ability to move files, build relationships, and deliver results doesn't change when governments do.
Why Choose NorthStar
Politics Shift.
Your Success Doesn't.
At NorthStar, we believe policy depth and knowledge are foundational to achieving public policy outcomes. Navigating today’s environment requires more than relationships. It requires a deep understanding of public opinion, data, and political context — and the judgment to understand how those forces shape the decisions being made in Ottawa and in the communities where our clients operate.
We know what Canadians are thinking, not just what the political class is saying about them. What moves a file in Ottawa may not move it in Edmonton, Halifax, or Quebec City. Our counsel reflects those differences. We tailor our approach to the political realities of each jurisdiction, each audience, and each moment.
Our job is not simply to advance your interests today, but rather to equip you with the relationships, intelligence, and institutional knowledge to navigate political risk, seize opportunities, and build durable partnerships that extend beyond any single issue or election cycle.
Services
In high stakes, must-win situations, you need counsel you trust and intelligence you can't get anywhere else.
We work every day to be that firm – the one our clients call first, because we know the file, we know the players, and we know how to move an issue with decision-makers.
Our team understands how decisions are made because we’ve worked inside the federal government, provincial legislatures, and political offices across the country. Government relations is never a single meeting – it’s a ladder. Legislation moves through the House, is studied in committee, is shaped in the Senate, and is operationalized through regulations and capital allocations long after the public debate has moved on.
By the time policy or procurement criteria are made public, the window to influence has often closed for those who weren’t involved upstream. NorthStar positions clients upstream where priorities and public spending decisions actually take shape. We navigate the complex intersection of line departments, central agencies, and political offices to advance legislative priorities and capture major government procurement and strategic funding opportunities. Beyond direct advocacy, we provide institutional investors, corporate boards, and executive leadership with rigorous political risk analysis, regulatory forecasting, and due diligence - ensuring major investments and operational plans remain durable against changing governments and shifting political tides.
The most effective public affairs campaigns bring strategy, research, and modern digital execution together around a single objective. NorthStar’s partners have led and won some of the most significant, high-stakes public policy and advocacy campaigns in recent Canadian history. When direct advocacy, alone, cannot move a file we build comprehensive campaigns designed to reshape the political landscape and influence decision-makers from the outside in.
Every campaign begins with a clear-eyed assessment of the political environment, the decision-makers who matter, the audiences that can move them, and the narrative that will land. We identify the pressure points, test messaging against public sentiment, and sequence the right mix of engagement before a single dollar is deployed. Today’s policy fights are won where digital sophistication meets ground-level mobilization. We deploy data-driven digital campaigns - combining geo-targeted digital advertising, local-level activation, creative content, and online grassroots mobilization - to reach and activate the exact constituencies elected officials listen to most. By pairing advanced digital tools with strategic coalition building across industry, regional, and community stakeholders, we turn shared interests into measurable, undeniable momentum that drives policy action.
Thought leadership and communications earn you the right to be heard. We position our clients as credible, authoritative voices through proactive media engagement, op-eds placed where decision-makers read them, and high-profile speaking platforms that shape policy conversations before a crisis forces your hand. We know which journalists cover which files, what they need, and how to pitch stories that land, because our senior team has spent decades on both sides of the microphone and remain regular contributors to national political broadcasts.
Crucially, strong communications requires disciplined execution under pressure. We provide hands-on executive media training and parliamentary committee prep, ensuring leaders are composed, on message, and ready for hostile scrums or parliamentary inquiries. When issues escalate, NorthStar delivers senior crisis counsel, aligning stakeholder communications, media response, and political engagement to protect organizational reputation when the stakes are highest.
Sector Expertise
Canada’s defence and security sector is shaped by complex procurements processes, evolving government priorities, industrial policy, and increasingly sophisticated geopolitical considerations. Success requires understanding how government, industry, and political decision-makers interact long before a formal procurement process begins.
NorthStar brings deep experience across the defence and security sector. Our team has served as in-house government affairs executives at major defence primes, giving us a practitioner's understanding of how public affairs integrates with business development, capture strategy, and long-term market positioning. We understand how DND, PSPC, central agencies, and political offices interact on defence files, and how to position clients early in the policy and procurement conversation.
Canada’s trade environment is shaped by complex relationships with major trading partners, changing market access conditions, and the intersection of trade policy with domestic economic and industrial priorities. For companies operating across borders, understanding the rules is only part of the challenge. Success requires understanding how trade, procurement, investment, industrial policy, and geopolitics intersect.
NorthStar brings deep experience across trade policy files, including CUSMA implementation, tariff and retaliatory measures, market access, and the intersection of trade policy with procurement, investment attraction, and industrial strategy. Our team has advised international companies entering the Canadian market, supported domestic companies navigating export barriers, and helped organizations engage government on trade and market access issues. We understand that trade policy is shaped by economic interests, geopolitical considerations, and domestic political priorities. We help clients navigate those competing dynamics, build relationships, and position their interests within a broader policy context. Our counsel connects the trade table to the political, economic, and strategic realities shaping decisions in Canada.