Darrel Reid
Darrel R. Reid is a Canadian policy advisor, political manager and federal candidate in two Canadian federal political elections. He is particularly notable as having occupied positions as the Chief of Staff or Deputy Chief of Staff of two Canadian federal political leaders, Preston Manning and Stephen Harper.
History
Education
Reid obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Regina in 1981. This was followed by a Master of Arts degree in 1984 and a Master of Library Sciences degree in 1985, both from the University of Toronto. In 1994, he completed a doctorate in history at the Queen's University. The topic of his dissertation was the life of Albert Benjamin Simpson.Queen's University
Between 1988 and 1994, during the course of his doctoral studies, Reid served as Information Officer and Manager, Publishing and Information Systems, of the Institute of Intergovernmental Relations, School of Policy Studies, Queen's University.The Reform Party of Canada
Following the completion of his doctorate, Reid served as Director of Policy and Research for the Reform Party of Canada. In May 1996 he became Chief of Staff to Preston Manning, Leader of Canada’s Official Opposition. In 1997, he ran unsuccessfully as a Reform Party candidate for the riding of Lanark-Carleton.Focus on the Family Canada
From 1998 to 2004, Reid was the president of the evangelical Christian organization Focus on the Family Canada. He promoted conservative Christian family values, while actively campaigning against issues such as divorce, abortion and same-sex marriage.As a Corporate Executive
In 2004, Reid left Focus on the Family Canada to become Vice-President of Current Corporation, a high-tech firm specializing in night vision systems for the marine industry.In May 2005, Reid won the Conservative nomination for Richmond and ran unsuccessfully in the subsequent federal election. Following his January, 2006 election loss, Reid became Vice President of Project Development for the, an organization with the stated mission to "influence people to a Christian view of work and public life."