Pollsters used to be neither heard nor seen, and in fact, not even known. But then along came Allan Gregg, and never again would pollsters remain silent or faceless. With authority, he has set the standard for the pollster as chronicler of the zeitgeist, as the go-to interpreter of social, political, and business events.Allan Gregg is one of Canada’s most recognized and respected senior research professionals and social commentators.
From 1979 through 1993 Gregg was known as the official pollster of the Progressive Conservative Party and participated in over 50 central election campaigns on three continents. In 1995, he co-founded The Strategic Counsel, a research partnership he left in 2007. That year, he set out on his own to form Allan Gregg Strategies, offering high-end, value added, research-based consulting and communications advice to private and public sector clients. At the same time, he returned to roots and assumed the position of Chairman of Harris/Decima, a company he founded almost 30 years earlier that has recently merged with the fastest growing research firm in the world. Allan is a pioneer in the integration of consulting, public-opinion research, public affairs and communications. He not only has an intimate knowledge of the dynamics of policy-making but also a deep understanding of cultural change and the communications processes necessary to forge a public consensus around government and business initiatives. Much sought after for his analysis and as a public speaker, he is widely published and quoted. He is a regular participant on CBC’s “At Issue” panel on Thursday nights , is the host of the popular and respected TVO talk show – Allan Gregg In Conversation With — as well as a frequent contributor to newspapers and magazines.
Allan is also an entrepreneur with diverse interests. He was one of the founding shareholders of Canada’s children’s network, YTV, the Chairman of Toronto Film Festival, the current Chair of the Walrus Foundation (publisher of 2007 Magazine of the Year, “The Walrus”) and has executive produced documentary television as well as recordings by Canadian artists such as The Tragically Hip, The Watchmen and Big Wreck.