Emile Scheffel
Founder & President, Emile & Co. (www.buildtrust.ca)
| Degrees: | MPM/13 |
Emile is founder and president of Emile & Company Advisors Ltd., a public affairs advisory firm.
He brings his clients expertise in communications and issues management, a thorough understanding of the Canadian public affairs landscape, and a relentless work ethic honed in both partisan politics and private enterprise.
Early in his career, Emile served in the British Columbia Premier’s Office, where he coordinated production of speaking notes and briefing materials for Premier Christy Clark — working with senior staff across the provincial government and developing deep familiarity with policy issues ranging from natural resources to finance. In this role, Emile had the privilege of drafting milestone communication products including a Speech from the Throne, regional post-Budget keynotes, and the 2014 provincial apology to the Tsilhqot’in people for historic wrongs.
Emile moved on to serve as ministerial assistant and then acting chief of staff to BC’s Minister of Health — overseeing daily issues management in the province’s largest ministry.
In the private sector, Emile represented Canadian National Railway Ltd. (CN) as regional lead for community affairs in British Columbia, overseeing the company’s community relations, corporate responsibility, and issues management functions in the province. In this role, Emile developed strong working relationships with local governments and community organizations throughout BC — building trust between CN and the communities where it operates.
Returning to politics, Emile played a key communications and media relations role in the BC Liberals’ 2017 election campaign. After the NDP formed government despite the BC Liberals’ narrow victory in the popular vote and seat count, Emile was appointed Executive Director of the party after overseeing a number of high-stakes recount operations.
As Executive Director, Emile administered a leadership election process that energized the party’s membership and doubled its size to 60,000 members, while driving a bottom-to-top modernization of the organization in the midst of a difficult transition from government to opposition. Facing sweeping changes to political donation rules, Emile led the organization to unprecedented grassroots fundraising success, implemented the strongest financial management measures in the party’s history, and renewed the party’s staff team.
Emile currently serves as Vice President, Corporate Affairs for Brane Digital Asset Custody, a high-profile Canadian financial technology company. At Brane, Emile leads the company’s regulatory and reputational functions — including communications, government relations, collaboration with external legal counsel, ESG, and board governance.
Passionate about mental health and building community, Emile has served on the Pacific Local Partner Council of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) and the fundraising committee for Vancouver’s Kettle Society. He is a former co-chair of the Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee (CJPAC) Fellowship Program, and earned a Master of Political Management degree from Carleton University’s Clayton H. Riddell Graduate Program.
Emile is happiest when he can get to bed early, start the day at 4:00 AM, spend some quality time in the gym, then get to work delivering results for his clients.
A proud son of Kamloops, BC, Emile now lives in Calgary.
Last Revision: March 2023