Charles has worked as a public policy specialist and advisor to senior Ministers at both Queen’s Park and in Ottawa for more than twenty years. His experience includes work for the Hon. Sean Conway and later for the Hon. Ralph Goodale as Minister of Natural Resources and Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. While at Natural Resources, Charles was a senior advisor to Minister Goodale, attending numerousinternational climate change negotiations including the Kyoto Conference in December 1997 as a member of Canada’s high-level delegation.
From 2000 to 2004, Charles was a senior consultant at Earnscliffe in Ottawa, serving a range of private sector clients in such diverse fields as energy, health care and the automotive industry. From 2004 to 2006, he served in Ottawa as the Vice President of Government Affairs for Bell Globemedia, owners of the CTV Network, the Globe and Mail, and numerous other communications and entertainment properties. He also served as Ontario Campaign Director for the Liberal Party of Canada in the 2006 federal election.
He is a graduate of both the University of Toronto and Upper Canada College and is a regular political commentator for CBC News Network and CTV News Channel.