Prime Minister Mark Carney's deputy chief of staff is considering a run for former minister Jonathan Wilkinson's riding.Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s deputy chief of staff is considering a bid for elected office with a run in the Vancouver-area riding that is being vacated by former Liberal natural resources minister Jonathan Wilkinson, two sources say.
If Braeden Caley decides to seek the nomination in Mr. Wilkinson’s North Vancouver-Capilano riding, it would create a vacancy at the senior level of the Prime Minister’s Office.
Mr. Wilkinson, who was first elected an MP in 2015, is leaving federal politics for a position as Canada’s new ambassador to the European Union. He is set to begin serving in the role at the beginning of the summer.
The Globe is not naming the sources, because they were not authorized to discuss internal government staffing.
They said there have been calls from Liberals in B.C. for Mr. Caley to consider running for elected office in the Vancouver area, with particular interest from North Vancouver-Capilano.
One of the sources said Mr. Carney is supportive of Mr. Caley running for elected office.
As things now stand, Mr. Caley works under Marc-André Blanchard, who serves as the chief of staff to the Prime Minister.
Mr. Caley has been a fixture in B.C. politics. He served as a press secretary and director of policy and communications to Gregor Robertson for five years of Mr. Robertson’s 10-year run as Vancouver’s longest-serving mayor.
Mr. Robertson ran for the Liberals in the 2025 election, won the riding of Vancouver Fraserview-South Burnaby and is now the federal Housing and Infrastructure Minister.
After his time in Vancouver politics, Mr. Caley took on senior roles with the federal Liberals. He served for six years as senior director of communications for the party and then as national campaign co-director in the 2025 federal election campaign.
He grew up in Richmond, B.C., and has lived in Vancouver. He was named deputy chief of staff to the Prime Minister in March, 2025.
Before Mr. Wilkinson served as Justin Trudeau’s natural resources minister from 2021 to 2025, he served Mr. Trudeau in two other cabinet posts: fisheries minister and then environment minister.
He was appointed to the diplomatic post in April after not being named a member of Mr. Carney’s cabinet.
The Prime Minister’s Office praised him upon his diplomatic appointment, with a statement noting that he “brings three decades of experience at the intersection of public policy, technology, and international economic engagement.”
The riding of North Vancouver-Capilano was formerly known as North Vancouver, but was renamed in 2022 when its boundaries were altered.
Prior to Mr. Wilkinson, Conservative Andrew Saxton held the riding from 2008 to 2015.
In the 2025 election, Mr. Wilkinson won the riding with 60 per cent of the vote compared to 34 per cent for Conservative candidate Stephen Curran.