Deb Hutton is a former chief of staff to Premier Mike Harris and a current Metrolinx board member.
Hutton's father worked in real estate and her mother was a teacher as she grew up in Listowel, Ontario. [1]
Hutton earned her undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Western Ontario in 1988. [1]
In 1995 Hutton was an executive assistant on the team working with Mike Harris. [2] [3] In 1996 Hutton was one of the attendees of a meeting that took place just prior to death of Anthony George, an event later known as the Ipperwash Crisis. [4] Shortly thereafter, during a violent confrontation, the Ontario Provincial Police killed a protester. [5] During the public inquiry the provincial government led by Harris were scrutinized for the 1995 Ipperwash Crisis. [6] At that time, Hutton expressed "a desire to direct the police" to put a quick end to the occupation within two days. [7] [8] Later publications on the event also raise the question of whether Harris was making decisions during the event or Hutton. [9]
From 2000 until 2003 Hutton was a vice president at Hydro One, [10] [11] and then as of 2003 she was a special advisor to Ernie Eves, the premier of Toronto. [12] Around this time she acquired the nickname "Premier Hutton" because of her influence on the politics of Eves' administration. [1]
In 2004 Hutton worked on Belinda Stronach's campaign to lead the Conservative Party. [13] Hutton guided Stronach through the process and Hutton considered Stronach to be easy to work with as Hutton laiddown guidelines to be followed during the campaign. [14] : 137–138 The campaign was not successful, though in 2006 Hutton spoke on the large amount of media coverage received by the campaign. [14] : 140
Between October 2009 and October 2020 Hutton worked for TransCanada Enterprises, [15] and this work later became of political interest to Canada's Liberal Party. [16]
In 2017 Hutton wrote a column defending the policies of Patrick Brown. [17]
Hutton was interim Chief of Staff to Minister Caroline Mulroney in 2020. [18] Hutton helped Ford prepare for the 2022 Ontario general election, by acting as Andrea Horwath in mock debates. [18] [19] She has been on the board of Metrolinx since 2022. [20] [21]
Hutton worked for Premier Doug Ford in the aftermath of the Greenbelt scandal in a volunteer capacity. She advised Cabinet Ministers and their Chiefs of staff on how to avoid conflicts of interest. [2] [18]
Hutton is the wife of former Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario leader Tim Hudak. [22] They were married in 2002. [1]
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