Leslie is Chief of Staff to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Canada, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland. Leslie and host Stephanie dive into a conversation about careers and motherhood in this one of a kind episode from a woman at the top of the halls of power in Canada. We discuss Leslie’s path to success in politics, how she handles stress, work life “balance”, the challenges of motherhood (daycare, returning from maternity leave, emotional load), women in politics, and her thoughts on big issues and how to solve them. 

I love how Leslie shares the challenges and struggles in her job and her daily life, allowing you to see that you can overcome challenges and thrive too.  I can’t wait for you to hear her advice so jump in and take a listen!

More about Leslie: 

Leslie is Chief of Staff to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Canada, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland. Approaching seven years inside the Trudeau government, Leslie has served as Chief of Staff in four ministries, helped lead the development of two federal budgets and the government’s procurement response in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, and served as the Director of Policy for the 2021 National Liberal Campaign heading up the development of the Liberal platform. 

Before joining the government in 2015, Leslie was the head of Communications and Public Affairs for Google Canadawhere she worked to promote Canada’s digital economy and the success of Canadian innovators online. She also served as Vice-Chair of Ontario’s Open Government Engagement Team, which provided recommendations to the Government of Ontario on open data, access to information and civic engagement.

Leslie has worked extensively in politics and public policy for over 15 years, serving on public boards, advising on public policy reviews, and working previously in Parliament as director of communications to the Leader of the Official Opposition, the Honourable Michael Ignatieff. She practiced law at Torys LLP in Toronto and is a graduate of the University of Alberta (BA (Hon.) Political Science), the London School of Economics (MSc. Politics of the World Economy), and the University of Toronto Faculty of Law (JD).

Find Leslie online:

Instagram

Twitter

LinkedIn 

Podcast recommendation (s): 

The Herle Burly Podcast

Pod Save America 

The Strategists 

Smartless 

Kara Swisher

Book recommendation: The Candy House by Jennifer Egan 

Freebie from Beacon North Strategies accessed here: https://www.beaconnorthstrategies.com/10-tips-to-make-your-next-meeting-a-success

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Produced by: Stephanie Mitton

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