Braeden Caley

Braeden Caley

Senior Director of Communications

AGE: 28

COMPANY: Liberal Party of Canada

The Story: At the age of 13, Braeden Caley spent evenings and weekends knocking on doors with Raymond Chan, the MP for his Richmond riding. Caley worked as Chan’s assistant from 2005 to 2008 before moving next door to work for Ujjal Dosanjh, MP for Vancouver South. The day after the 2011 federal election, in which Dosanjh lost, Caley got a surprise call from Mayor Gregor Robertson’s chief of staff, who wanted to enlist him in the Mayor’s office—where he would come to serve as director of policy and communications. Caley, who had joined Vision Vancouver at its founding AGM and admired Robertson’s bold goals and broad political tent, said yes. Throughout his time with the mayor’s office, Caley remained intimately connected with federal politics—and in 2013, he was elected B.C. president of the Liberal Party of Canada. (In the same year, he finished his bachelor’s degree in political science from UBC.) With just two seats then held by Liberals in B.C., he began organizing for the pivotal 2015 election, which saw Justin Trudeau elected prime minister. In early 2016, Caley got another call, this one asking him to take charge of communications for the Liberal Party of Canada; this February, he moved to Ottawa.

Markers of Success: In 2008, Caley co-founded a group called Canadians for Obama and volunteered in that year’s U.S. presidential election in six different states. Seven years later, he used those strategies in B.C.: focusing on field operations, metrics and youth, he developed community teams to engage with people. Everything, including conversations on the doorstep, was tracked and evaluated. In last October’s election, the Liberals won their biggest victory ever in B.C.: 17 seats.

PHOTO: ADAM BLASBERG