David Scrymgeour

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David Scrymgeour is a Canadian entrepreneur and consultant. He is the founder of a group of companies in the information and training industries. Politically he has worked with the Green Party of Canada, the Green Party of Ontario, the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada and the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario. He also does pro bono work for sustainable development organisations, NGOs and charities.

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[edit] Green Party

In 2004 Scrymgeour, he was hired for a dollar-per-year as an advisor to the Green Party of Canada by its leader Jim Harris.[1] In two position papers, Green and Growing and EDA Champions, he outlined a political organisation structure that emphasised minimum critical central coordination under an Executive Director and the building of strong, self-reliant, volunteer-based, electoral district associations.[2] In 2006 he served as Interim Executive Director of the Federal Party and later as its Director of Organisation.

In the lead up to the 2007 Ontario General Election, Scrymgeour was brought on by GPO Provincial Campaign Manager Jeff Brownridge to act as Director of Organizing and was instrumental in helping to deliver the first full-slate of 107 candidates in GPO history. He then worked with Fair Vote Ontario on the MMP Referendum during the election.

In November 2007 he was elected as the Chief Financial Officer for the Green Party of Ontario.[3]

[edit] Progressive Conservative Party

From 1999 through 2003, Scrymgeour held a number of dollar-per-year positions with the former Progressive Conservative Party of Canada under Joe Clark, ultimately serving as National Director of the Party in 2002-03. He resigned this position as part of a deal between David Orchard and Peter MacKay that led to MacKay's assumption of leadership and caused a storm of protest within the Party. [4]

Scrymgeour was the Progressive Conservative candidate for election to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2000 federal election in the Markham riding against Liberal candidate John McCallum and incumbent Jim Jones of the Canadian Alliance.

He also managed the lead up to Jim Flaherty's campaign for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario in 2004.[5][6]

[edit] Business and community activity

Scrymgeour has a Bachelor of Commerce and Finance degree from the University of Toronto. He worked internationally from the mid-1980s through the early 1990s as a consultant and trouble-shooter in the information industry. In 1992, he founded the first of a number of information management and training companies. Although a management team now runs the day-to-day operations, he remains involved as majority owner of the group.

He has engaged as a volunteer advisor, donor and board member for a number of organizations, including the Canadian Executive Services Organization (CESO), the Oak Ridges Moraine Land Trust, the Lung Association, the Canadian Psychiatric Research Foundation, the Anglican Church of Canada and the Make Poverty History Campaign.[7]

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Curry, Bill. "Tory executive director to advise Green Party", National Post, 20 August 2004, pp. A4. 
  2. ^ Green and Growing by David Scrymgeour
  3. ^ Green Party of Ontario welcomes new executive | Green Party of Ontario
  4. ^ Laghi, Brian. "Deal gives Tory jobs to Orchard supporters", Globe and Mail, 5 June 2003, pp. A1. 
  5. ^ Benzie, Robert. "Flaherty names chief aide", Toronto Star, 19 April 2004, pp. A06. 
  6. ^ Urquhart, Ian. "Tory man to beat in Tory race", Toronto Star, 16 June 2004, pp. A19. 
  7. ^ Information pertaining to Scrymgeour's private career is taken from the "About the author" section of "Green and Growing".