Nigel S. Wright
Nigel S. Wright, born on May 18, 1963, in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, is a Canadian lawyer, businessperson, and former politician, best known for serving as chief of staff to Prime Minister Stephen Harper from 2011 to 2013. He holds degrees in politics and economics from Trinity College at the University of Toronto, as well as law degrees from the University of Toronto and Harvard Law School. Before his political career, Wright worked at a prestigious law firm and later became a managing director at Onex Corporation, where he managed investments in various industries, including aeronautics.
His tenure as chief of staff was marked by significant involvement in Canadian trade discussions and government policy, but he became embroiled in the Canadian Senate expenses scandal. This controversy arose when he personally reimbursed Senator Mike Duffy C$90,000 to cover questionable expenses, leading to a high-profile criminal trial and political fallout. Although initially defended by Harper, Wright resigned in May 2013 amid increasing scrutiny. Following his political career, he returned to Onex, where he advanced to co-head of the firm, focusing on its European operations. Wright remains a private individual, engaged in charitable work and active in his church, where he holds the position of subdeacon.
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Subject Terms
Nigel S. Wright
Canadian politician; businessman; lawyer
- Born: May 18, 1963
- Place of Birth: Hamilton, Ontario
- Education: Trinity College, University of Toronto; University of Toronto Law School; Harvard Law School
- Significance: Nigel S. Wright was chief of staff to the prime minister of Canada from 2011 to 2013, and he was involved in the Canadian Senate expenses scandal.
Background
Canadian politician; businessperson; lawyer. Nigel S. Wright was born May 18, 1963, in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Wright is known for being a private person, and little is known of his personal life. His father was Graham Wright, an engineering technician, and he has a sister. There is speculation that he was adopted. Wright spent some of his early years in England. He entered the University of Toronto’s Trinity College in the fall of 1980. While there, he was politically active as a member of the Campus Conservatives, and he cofounded the University of Toronto Magazine. He graduated with a BA (cum laude) in politics and economics. He entered law school at the University of Toronto, but he left after a year to work in the prime minister’s office as a junior aide in the policy unit. He remained there from 1984 to 1986. He considered a career in academia, but he returned to law school in 1986 and received an LLB (Honors), a bachelor’s degree in law, from the University of Toronto Law School in 1988. He then went on to earn a LLM, a master’s degree in law, from Harvard Law School. He joined the law firm of Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg in Toronto in 1990, and he also worked on political campaigns for the Progressive Conservative Party. He was made a partner in the firm after only five years.
Life’s Work
In 1997, Wright left the law firm to work for Onex Corporation, an investment firm, where he became a managing director. He was involved in acquiring underperforming companies, especially in the aeronautics field. While working for Onex, he served as an officer or director of some of the companies it acquired, such as Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Magnatrax Corporation, and Hawker Beechcraft. He also volunteered to work for charities, such as a homeless shelter and a summer camp for children with cancer.
In 2011, he took a leave of absence from Onex to serve a two-year term as chief of staff to the office of the prime minister of Canada. Before he accepted the position, he took steps to avoid any conflicts of interest due to his position at Onex. He worked with the Ethics Committee to create measures that would prevent his private sector interests from impacting his government responsibilities. These measures included limitations such as excluding Wright from government tax policy discussions relating to private equity companies. Wright also gave up his position as director of the Conservative Fund Canada and also his position on the board of the Manning Centre for Building Democracy, which was run by former Reform Party leader Preston Manning. Some people were still not satisfied that there would be no conflicts, and his appointment created controversy.
During his time as chief of staff, he was known for leading trans-Pacific free trade zone talks and for drafting the policy limiting foreign investment in the Canadian oil sands, areas that contained retrievable petroleum. He continued his habit of running many miles before work and kept his personal life private. In 2012, the magazine Maclean’s ranked Wright number five on its list of "The 25 Most Important People in Ottawa," calling him a conciliator and bridge-maker. Hill Times ranked Wright number six in its 2012 list of "The Top 100 Most Influential People in Government."
In 2013, four senators were investigated for allegedly filing invalid government expense claims for housing and/or travel. One of the senators, Mike Duffy, was asked to repay his reimbursed housing expenses, but he said he had not done anything wrong. At Duffy’s criminal trial for fraud, bribery, and breach of trust charges, Wright testified that the Conservative Party of Canada had planned to quietly refund Duffy’s expenses. Because the expenses were almost three times what the party expected, the Party declined to go forth with this plan. At that point, Wright gave Duffy C$90,000 from his own personal funds to reimburse the government. Evidence presented at Duffy’s trial indicated that the prime minister’s office was aware of Wright’s actions.
Duffy resigned from the Conservative Caucus on May 16, 2013, after the story came to light. In November 2013, he and another senator were suspended from the Senate for two years without pay. His criminal trial lasted ten months, with the verdict scheduled to be handed down two months later, in April 2016.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper at first defended Wright’s actions, but he accepted Wright’s resignation on May 19, 2013, and he later said he had fired Wright. In his official statement, as reported by the Huffington Post, Wright said, "I came to Ottawa to do my part in providing good government for Canada, and that is all that I ever wanted and worked for in this role."
When Wright’s actions were alleged to be fraud, Wright said that he was acting lawfully and only wanted to make sure the funds owed to the government were repaid. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) investigated Wright but announced on April 15, 2014, that it did not find evidence to support criminal charges.
In July 2014, Wright returned to Onex Corporation as a managing director in its London office. His focus was on assisting Onex Corporation’s European expansion plan. Wright was later promoted. As of 2024, he was the co-head of the company and responsible for managing the operation of the company's partners. He also oversaw the company's European activities.
Impact
As chief of staff, Wright was an important and influential part of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government. His role in the Senate expenses scandal led to one of the most serious controversies for Harper’s Conservative government. Wright’s testimony in the criminal trial of Senator Mike Duffy occurred during Harper’s bid for reelection, and it may have contributed to Harper’s failure to secure a fourth term.
Personal Life
Wright is not married. He is a subdeacon in his Anglican church, and in his youth, he considered becoming a priest. He has been granted audiences with both Pope Benedict XVI and Pope John Paul II.
Bibliography
Chase, Steven. "From Our Archives: Who Is Nigel Wright, the Man Who Bailed out Mike Duffy?" The Globe and Mail, 29 Oct. 2013, www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/from-our-archives-who-is-nigel-wright-the-man-who-bailed-out-mike-duffy/article12005408. Accessed 11 Oct. 2024.
Leger, Dan. Duffy: Stardom to Senate to Scandal. Nimbus, 2014.
Munroe, Susan. "Nigel Wright: Former Chief of Staff to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper." About News, 27 Jan. 2019. canadaonline.about.com/od/senate/fl/Nigel-Wright.htm. Accessed 11 Oct. 2024.
"Nigel Wright." Onex, https://www.onex.com/employee/Nigel-Wright. Accessed 11 Oct. 2024. Posner, Michael. "Mister Right." The Walrus Foundation, 14 Apr. 2020, thewalrus.ca/mister-right. Accessed 11 Oct. 2024.
"The 25 Most Important People in Ottawa." Maclean's, 27 Nov. 2012, www.macleans.ca/news/canada/25-most-important-people-in-ottawa. Accessed 11 Oct. 2024.
Wells, Paul. The Longer I’m Prime Minister: Stephen Harper and Canada, 2006-. Random House, 2013.