Elly Alboim, former CBC parliamentary bureau chief and political consultant, dead at 78
CBC
Elly Alboim, a former CBC parliamentary bureau chief, longtime political consultant and professor at Carleton University in Ottawa, has died at 78, his family tells CBC News.
Alboim joined the CBC in 1970 and worked at the broadcaster for more than two decades. In 1977, he became parliamentary bureau chief and national political editor for the network — a job he held until 1993.
"He made it his mission to make contacts in the public service," said Rob Russo, also a former parliamentary bureau chief for CBC News. "He took public policy really seriously and became as adept at public policy as the people who actually formulated public policy."
"Most Canadians never saw him. Most Canadians never heard of him. But he was uniquely responsible for shaping some of the biggest stories the CBC ever covered," Russo added.
Keith Boag, former CBC chief political correspondent, said Alboim led the parliamentary bureau during a profound period in Canadian history which saw the patriation of the Constitution and showdowns with Quebec.
"Elly played no small part in making sure the CBC understood how important this moment was…. He understood the weight of the moment in real time as it was happening," Boag said.
While at CBC, Alboim began teaching political reporting at Carleton, where he mentored generations of aspiring journalists who shape Canadian news today, his friends and colleagues told CBC News.
"He impacted every journalist who passed his way, both in the Ottawa bureau he so cherished, and at Carleton with the impact he had on generations of journalists who learned the skills he taught," said Peter Mansbridge, former anchor of The National.
"But he was more than a journalist, teacher and leader. He was a mentor that so many depended on to guide them. I was one of those and still live a life benefitted from the lessons he taught me," Mansbridge added.
Russo said that Alboim's legacy is "generations of journalists who went on to do great work and are still doing great work" — and he never stopped imparting his decades of knowledge.
"I think this was a man who never sought honour as a man who should have been showered with honours. I'm really going to miss him," Russo said.
After his time at CBC, Alboim joined consulting firm Earnscliffe Strategies and led its strategic communications practice.
According to his biography on Earnscliffe's website, Alboim provided "public opinion research advice for nine federal and two Ontario budgets and was a senior adviser to Paul Martin during his tenures as finance minister and prime minister."
Alboim also ran debate preparations for Liberal leader Stéphane Dion and premiers Dalton McGuinty and Kathleen Wynne.
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