The B.C. premier-designate’s new right hand man is a former lobbyist who has worked on behalf of waste management companies, media groups and Uber.

Last week, B.C. Conservative premier-designate Lorne Doerkson tapped political strategist Dimitri Pantazopoulos as his chief of staff. A party news release says Pantazopoulos has more than two decades of experience in government, politics and business and played a “central role” in the Conservative Party’s successful fall election campaign.

He was also a registered lobbyist in B.C. between 2013 and 2022.

Provincial lobbying records show he worked with Maple Leaf Strategies, an Ottawa-based public affairs, government relations and research firm, on behalf of clients including Waste Connections of Canada Inc., Progressive Waste Solutions, Pacific Newspaper Group, Glacier Media Group, Black Press and Uber.

Until recently, Pantazopoulos was a partner with Maple Leaf Strategies and was also the longtime president of Yorkville Strategies, a public opinion research and consulting firm.

He told the IJF his focus now is on serving as Doerkson’s chief of staff.

"Before accepting this role I consulted the Public Service Agency and retained legal counsel to ensure I meet both the letter and the spirit of the rules that apply to political staff. I am following the advice of the head of the PSA in a manner consistent with the actions of previous chiefs of staff and with senior staff who have entered the civil service,” Pantazopoulos said in an emailed statement.

“My only job now is serving the premier and the people of British Columbia.”

Pantazopoulos previously served as principal secretary to former B.C. Liberal premier Christy Clark from 2011 to 2012. Afterwards, he was assistant deputy minister for intergovernmental relations and trade in B.C. in 2012.

He also previously worked as a pollster for former prime minister Stephen Harper, former Alberta premier Jason Kenney and Ontario Premier Doug Ford.

"Dimitri has spent years working for this province, inside government and out, and he knows what it takes to actually get things done,” said Doerkson in a news release about Pantazopoulos’s appointment. “We ran on getting British Columbia back on track, and I wanted someone running my office who has done this kind of work before and is ready to go the day we take office."

Pantazopoulos’s appointment takes effect Nov. 20, when the premier and cabinet are sworn in.

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