Jenni Byrne is the former Director of Issues Management in the Office of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.[1] She is described as "a long-time organizer with roots in the Reform Party, and she also worked on Harper’s leadership team. She keeps particular track of infrastructure projects. Harper is said to listen carefully when she expresses an opinion on politics."[2] She has been described as "a former nursing assistant in her mid-30s".[3]
Byrne, described as "Harper's single best political organizer",[4] joined the Reform Party of Canada at the age of 16 and, at 21, was the president of the campus Reform Club at the University of Ottawa.[5] During the 2006 Canadian federal election, she was identified as the Deputy Director of Political Operations for the Conservative Party of Canada,[6] as well as being Political Operations Manager of the Conservative Party for Ontario.[7]
In August 2009, Byrne left the Prime Minister's Office to become the Director of Political Operations of the Conservative Party of Canada. She succeeded Doug Finley in this role, upon his appointment to the Senate of Canada.[3]
In early 2011, Byrne was appointed as National Campaign Manager for the Conservative Party in next federal election, working with Guy Giorno, in the latter's capacity as National Campaign Chair.[8] She is the second woman in Canadian history to lead a national election campaign, the first being Jodi White, who directed the campaign of then Progressive Conservative Party of Canada leader Jean Charest in the 1997 federal election.[8]