Remembering a Dedicated Servant of Canada: Eddie Goldenberg
As noted in his appointment to the Order of Canada, “Edward Goldenberg is deeply committed to the public good.” That remained his north star throughout his long career.
For decades, Eddie served as a trusted political advisor, working closely with the Right Honourable Jean Chrétien, Canada’s 20th Prime Minister. He started as an intern in 1972. By 1980, he was a Special Constitutional Advisor, working on the Charter of Rights and Freedoms alongside M. Chrétien who was then Minister of Justice.
He later recruited key members of M. Chrétien’s leadership team, helping to lay the groundwork, through methodical organizing and policy work, for the 1993 change of federal government. But rather than cashing in on his connections, Eddie stayed inside, serving as the Prime Minister’s closest advisor and later Chief of Staff. He was in all the key rooms, at the key tables, for all of the Chrétien government’s key decisions, whether major changes to fiscal policy, new trade agreements, tax policy, national unity, climate change, and even whether to go to war.
Trained as a lawyer, Eddie continued to be sought as an advisor after leaving the PMO, working in a series of law firms and consultancies where his skill, incisiveness, and unmatched institutional knowledge were prized.
He shared some of his first-hand observations in his book The Way it Works: Inside Ottawa, which was a finalist for the Shaughnessy Cohen Award for Political Writing (and frequently assigned reading in MPM courses). It was an all-to-rare account from the most senior political backrooms of the practice of political management in Canada. His advice to new staffers in PMO – to always remember that they are representatives of the political boss they work for – remains a mantra to those hoping to succeed in politics today.
Eddie’s generosity, his savvy, his love of fishing, and his smile will long be remembered by those who knew him. He passed away in Ottawa, after a battle with cancer.
The faculty, staff and all members of the MPM community extend our heartfelt condolences to his wife Caroline and his other family members. May his memory be a blessing.