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Eddie Goldenberg

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Eddie Goldenberg
CM
BERJAYA
Goldenberg in 2006
9th Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister
In office
2003
Prime MinisterJean Chrétien
Preceded byPercy Downe
Succeeded byTim Murphy
Personal details
BornEdward Goldenberg
July 31, 1948
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Died (aged 77)
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
PartyLiberal Party of Canada
RelationsCarl Goldenberg (father)
Alma materMcGill University
ProfessionLawyer

Edward Goldenberg CM (July 31, 1948 – July 9, 2026),[1] was a Canadian lawyer and writer who served as a senior advisor to Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien for decades. Described as Chrétien's "Machiavelli",[2] from 1993 until 2003 he was chief policy advisor to the Prime Minister,[3] becoming chief of staff in 2003.[4] Along with Jean Pelletier and Aline Chrétien, he was considered Chrétien's most influential political guide.[5] Goldenberg's 2006 memoir, The Way It Works, focused on his time in government.[6] He was the son of the Canadian Senator and lawyer H. Carl Goldenberg.

Career

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Goldenberg first worked for politician Jean Chrétien in 1972 with a summer internship after completing his first year at McGill University Faculty of Law.[2] From 1980 to 1982, he supported Chrétien as Special Constitutional Advisor to the Minister of Justice and was one of the authors of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.[4]

In 1990, Goldenberg was "co-ordinating the 10 policy groups that have been organized to brief Chrétien on various issues and to write speeches."[7] He worked with Paul Martin, Terrie O’Leary, and Chaviva Hosek "on finalizing the text of the famous Red Book, officially titled Creating Opportunity: The Liberal Plan for Canada."[8]

From 1993 until 2003 he was[3] Chrétien's aide[9] and chief policy advisor.[10] He was involved with the government when the Kyoto Protocol was signed in 1998 and then signed again in 2002, and later wrote on the matter.[11] He became the Prime Minister's Chief of Staff in 2003.[4]

After Chretien left office, Goldenberg became a partner at the Ottawa office of law firm Stikeman Elliott LLP and subsequently a senior partner at Bennett Jones LLP, leading the firm's government affairs and public policy practice.[3][4][12] He was a supporter of Bob Rae's bid to become Liberal leader in 2006.[13] In 2019, he was still working with Jean Chretien on diplomatic matters with the People's Republic of China.[14]

Goldenberg's The Way It Works book

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Goldenberg was the author of The Way It Works, a book about his experiences working with Chrétien.[2] It focuses especially on 1993 until 2003 during Goldenberg's time as Senior Policy Advisor to Chrétien.[15]

Goldenberg's 2006 memoir, The Way It Works, was called by Maclean's "a bluntly realistic endorsement of the Savoie-Simpson thesis with none of the handwringing."[6] The memoir also covers Goldenberg's recollections of the writing process for 'the Red Book, which set the Liberal platform for the 1993 federal election.[16] In 2006, it was a finalist for the Shaughnessy Cohen Award for Political Writing.[17]

Death

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Goldenberg died of cancer in Ottawa, on July 9, 2026, at the age of 77.[18][19]

Honours

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Goldenberg was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada (CM) in the 2013 Canadian honours for "his contributions to public policy in Canada and for his championing of innovation and research excellence."[20] He was also awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal in 2023.[21]

Publishing history

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  • Author of The Way It Works[2] (September 18, 2007, ISBN 9780771035623)[17]

Archives

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There is an Edward S. Goldenberg fonds at Library and Archives Canada.[22]

References

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  1. ↑ "Obituary information for Eddie Goldenberg". hpmcgarry.ca.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Reynolds, Neil (30 September 2006). "Chrétien's Machiavelli". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 2016-03-06. Retrieved 2015-11-08.
  3. 1 2 3 Goldenberg, Eddie (4 September 2018), "Canada still has a strong hand in NAFTA negotiations", Globe and Mail, archived from the original on 12 November 2019, retrieved 20 December 2019
  4. 1 2 3 4 Eddie Goldenberg, Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, archived from the original on 2019-12-20, retrieved 2019-12-20
  5. ↑ Allan Fotheringham, "Aline, the power player," Maclean's, December 11, 2000, vol. 113, issue 50, p. 68.
  6. 1 2 The PM as dictator, Literary Review of Canada, 4 June 2018
  7. ↑ A Cool Hand at the Helm, Maclean's, archived from the original on 2019-12-20, retrieved 2019-12-20
  8. ↑ Godfrey, J. (2009), "From defeat to victory?", Paediatrics & Child Health, 14 (10), NCBI: 656–657, doi:10.1093/pch/14.10.656, PMC 2807804, PMID 21119809
  9. ↑ A new guy and the Nervous Nellies, CBC, archived from the original on 2020-08-13, retrieved 2019-12-19
  10. ↑ "The players behind the scenes", The Globe and Mail, 4 June 2002, archived from the original on 28 November 2021, retrieved 19 December 2019
  11. ↑ "Liberals knew Kyoto a long shot", The Star, 23 February 2007
  12. ↑ "Bennett Jones taps horsey set to land Dodge". The Globe and Mail. 16 September 2008. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-11-08.
  13. ↑ "Let the real work begin". National Post. Retrieved 2015-11-08.[dead link]
  14. ↑ Fife, Robert; Chase, Steven (13 June 2019), "Chrétien proposes cancelling Meng's extradition case to unfreeze relations with China", The Globe and Mail, archived from the original on 13 June 2019, retrieved 20 December 2019
  15. ↑ The Way It Works: Inside Ottawa, GoodReads, 2009, archived from the original on 2024-12-07, retrieved 2019-12-20
  16. ↑ The Liberal Red Book: The Economist's Perspective, Global Economics by Patrick Grady, archived from the original on 2020-08-01, retrieved 2019-12-20
  17. 1 2 The Way It Works, Penguin Random House, archived from the original on 2019-12-20, retrieved 2019-12-20
  18. ↑ McLaughlin, Abby (July 9, 2026). "Eddie Goldenberg, longtime adviser to Jean Chrétien, dies at 77". Montreal Gazette. Archived from the original on July 10, 2026. Retrieved July 9, 2026.
  19. ↑ "Former Chrétien top aide Goldenberg dies at 77". The Globe & Mail. Archived from the original on July 9, 2026. Retrieved July 9, 2026.
  20. ↑ "Mr. Edward S. Goldenberg". Governor-General of Canada. Archived from the original on 12 July 2026. Retrieved 10 July 2026.
  21. ↑ "Edward Goldenberg". Governor-General of Canada. Archived from the original on 10 July 2026. Retrieved 10 July 2026.
  22. ↑ "Edward S. Goldenberg fonds, Library and Archives Canada". Retrieved 2020-09-18.
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