Our Team
We are public affairs strategists who’ve created successful, multi-dimensional strategies for some of the world’s largest organizations, multi-lateral organizations and government.
Allison Gifford
Vice President, Policy and Public Affairs
Allison has spent the last 15 years working on or adjacent to Parliament Hill, providing strategic advice to political leaders, labour leaders, Fortune 50 companies, and non-profits. She has acquired deep policy expertise in tech, trade, supply chain logistics, transportation, labour, health, and sustainability. Keeping good public policy as her north star, Allison has built successful, lasting relationships between stakeholders and governments, helping them accomplish shared goals together.
Prior to joining Clear Strategy, Allison served as Vice-President of Policy at the Public Policy Forum, following eight years working with U.S. multinationals. As a senior public policy manager for Amazon, Allison advised business partners on all aspects of policy related to the company’s retail operations, and established Amazon as Ontario’s largest private-sector provider of community COVID-19 vaccinations. She also actively promoted the company’s commitment to renewable energy, and was frequently called upon to discuss Amazon’s purchase of Canada’s largest renewable energy project, the Travers Solar Project. Prior to joining Amazon, Allison was Director of Public Affairs for UPS Canada, where she advanced digital trade policies during CUSMA negotiations, supported the funding negotiations and launch of UPS’s first Canadian natural gas fleet, and helped federal and provincial governments navigate COVID-19 supply chain disruptions. At both companies, Allison designed community outreach programs, fostering greater partnership between business operations and their communities.
Allison began her career advising the Canadian Union of Public Employees on media relations strategy, acting frequently as the union’s national spokesperson. In 2010, she moved to Parliament Hill, where she served as a speechwriter to New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton, and took on additional responsibilities as a press secretary and national spokesperson during federal elections. Allison later transitioned to health advocacy, where she acted as a senior public affairs advisor for the Mental Health Commission of Canada, overseeing the launch of the world’s first national standard for psychological health and safety, and negotiating a ten-year funding renewal for the organization.
Allison lives in Ottawa with her husband and two children.