Noah Zatzman
Noah Zatzman (born 1984) is a Canadian political strategist and media consultant.[1] He is best known for his role as senior adviser and spokesperson to Annamie Paul[2], the first Black federal party leader in Canadian history. Over his career, Zatzman has served as a senior adviser and campaign aide to a number of prominent Canadian politicians.[3]
Early life and education
Zatzman was born in 1984 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and raised in the Cedarvale neighbourhood of Toronto.[4]
He comes from two prominent Canadian Jewish families.[4] His great-uncle, Joseph Zatzman, served as mayor of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia; the city's Zatzman Sportsplex and Joseph Zatzman Drive are named in his honour. His grandfather, Mike Zatzman, owned and operated Cleve's Sporting Goods in Halifax until 1972.[5] On his mother's side, Zatzman is the grandson of Gurion Hyman and great-grandson of Benzion Hyman[6][4], whose family owned and operated Hyman's Bookstore[4] [7] in Toronto's Kensington Market, a business credited with playing a significant role in the neighbourhood's cultural life.[8]
Zatzman graduated from the Community Hebrew Academy (CHAT)[9]. During his post-secondary years, he was active in pro-Israel campus advocacy and served as a Vice-President of the Canadian Federation of Jewish Students (CFJS).[10][7]
Career
Zatzman's first job in politics was on Parliament Hill as a junior aide to a Liberal MP.[4]
Discovery Channel Canada
Zatzman was Discovery Channel's Canadian publicist for most of the 2010's,[11] including on the channel's flagship program Daily Planet.[12][13] He was also unit publicist for the 2012 MuchMusic Video Awards.[14]
Kathleen Wynne's Ontario Liberal Party
In 2015, he became an adviser to Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, Ontario's first female Premier.[15][11]
Annamie Paul's Green Party
Zatzman began consulting for the campaign of family friend Annamie Paul in July 2020[11], following Paul's declaration as a candidate for the Green Party federal leadership.[13] Zatzman began serving as a senior adviser to Paul following her winning the Green Party federal leadership election in October 2020.[16] In addition, media reported Zatzman played a pivotal role in Paul's strong by-election results in the riding of Toronto Centre that same month.[11][17]
Paul was Canada's first Black federal party leader and only second Jewish federal leader, after David Lewis; Zatzman was widely regarded as her most senior and influential adviser.[18]
2021 controversy
In May 2021, amid escalating Israel-Hamas violence, Zatzman published a Facebook post on May 14 publicly accusing several Canadian politicians — including Green MPs Jenica Atwin and Paul Manly — of antisemitism, describing their statements critical of Israel as "appalling."[19] The post set off a prolonged and highly publicized internal crisis within the Green Party of Canada.
The Green Party's Federal Council subsequently indicated it had voted not to renew Zatzman's contract in early June 2021.[20] Zatzman disputed this characterization[21], telling iPolitics that the separation had been mutual and that "any suggestion to the contrary is false." On June 10, MP Atwin crossed the floor to join the Liberal Party, citing a lack of support from Paul's leadership following Zatzman's accusations.[17] On June 15, the Federal Council passed a motion demanding that Paul publicly denounce Zatzman and side with her caucus, under threat of a non-confidence vote.[22] The episode generated significant international coverage and dominated Canadian political headlines throughout the summer of 2021.[23][24][25][26][27][28][29]Media later reported that Zatzman had stepped back from his advisory role following antisemitic threats directed at him personally.[30]
Ontario political work
In October 2021, Zatzman joined Aurora Strategy Global, a public relations firm with close ties to the Ontario Liberal Party.[31][17][13] [32]
In 2022, he played a key campaign role for Nikki Kaur, who finished as runner-up in the Brampton mayoral election..[3]
In 2023, he played a key campaign role for Ana Bailão, who finished as runner-up in the Toronto mayoral election.[33]
Personal life
Zatzman is Jewish and gay.[34]
He is a longtime volunteer in Canada's Jewish community, including as the (emeritus) chair of United Jewish Appeal of Greater Toronto's LGBTQ+ Division.[35] In 2023, Zatzman served as co-chair of CJPAC's annual ACTION Party.[36]
Zatzman and his sisters grew up attending Nova Scotia's Jewish summer camp, Kadimah, where their father Marty served as Director. Zatzman's father died in October 2024.[37]
References
- ↑ "Hill Movers: Green Party leader announces new team; Bennett, MacAuley changes".
- ↑ "Three confidence votes to determine fate of minority Liberal government". Red Deer Advocate. April 21, 2021.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lieblien, Josh (2022-10-04). "Doorstep Postings: What business does a Jewish politico from Toronto have in a place like Brampton? Working to defeat a friend of Paul Godfrey". The Canadian Jewish News. Retrieved 2024-09-29.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 "The Man Who Upended Canada's Green Party".
- ↑ Taylor, Roger. "Cleve's owner Eric Bezanson gets hall of fame nod".
- ↑ "Gurion Hyman Obituary".
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Kassel, Matthew (November 17, 2021). "Is the Green Party over?". Jewish Insider. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
- ↑ "Hyman's Bookstore - Storefront Stories".
- ↑ "chatter spring".
- ↑ "CFJS Board Members - 2004/5". Facebook.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 "The Man Who Upended Canada's Green Party".
- ↑ "DAILY PLANET Wakes up in Vegas!".
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 "Comings and Goings: Noah Zatzman joins Aurora". iPolitics.
- ↑ www.imdb.com https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2334656/fullcredits/. Retrieved 2026-05-14. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ "Hill Movers".
- ↑ "Hill Movers: Green Party leader announces new team; Bennett, MacAuley changes".
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 Kassel, Matthew (November 17, 2021). "Is the Green Party over?". Jewish Insider. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
- ↑ Reynolds, Christopher (2021-07-19). "Non-confidence vote against Green Party Leader Annamie Paul cancelled | Canada's National Observer: Climate News". www.nationalobserver.com. Retrieved 2024-09-29.
- ↑ "Green party infighting grows amid rift over Israeli-Palestinian conflict".
- ↑ "Fallout from Greens' feud continues as party opts not to renew top adviser's contract".
- ↑ "MP Atwin's departure the culmination of months of Green Party chaos".
- ↑ "Green Party Leader says federal council is no longer asking her to repudiate former advisor".
- ↑ "Canada's Green Party remains a mess of obsessive Israel-bashing and allegations of antisemitism".
- ↑ "Canada's First Black Jewish Party Leader Is Under Threat – From Her Own Party".
- ↑ "Canada's Green Party in turmoil, leader resists calls to step down".
- ↑ "Embattled leader of Canada's Greens says party drops bid to oust her".
- ↑ "Crise au Parti vert".
- ↑ "No friction with May, but Paul needs distance from former adviser, says former federal Green interim leader".
- ↑ "The Green Party has discovered an inexhaustible source of self-destructive energy".
- ↑ "Green Party Exodus: Israel and anti-Semitism played role in key departures". The CJN.
- ↑ "Noah Zatzman".
- ↑ Nanji, Sabrina. "Bonnie Crombie's foot-in-mouth moment". qpobserver.ca. Retrieved 2024-09-29.
- ↑ Nanji, Sabrina. "SCOOP: Q1 Fundraising: Tories steamroll rivals". qpobserver.ca. Retrieved 2024-09-29.
- ↑ "Green Party leader seeks reconciliation within her party". June 2, 2021.
- ↑ "Sit this one out—or march loud and proud? Queer Jews face a hard choice in deciding whether to join Pride Toronto festivities in 2024". The Canadian Jewish News. 2024-06-21. Retrieved 2024-09-29.
- ↑ "ACTION Toronto 2023". CJPAC. Retrieved 2026-05-14.
- ↑ Ringel, Heather (2024-10-28). "Obituary: Marty Zatzman, 71, a teacher and musician considered the heart and soul of Nova Scotia's Camp Kadimah". The Canadian Jewish News. Retrieved 2026-05-14.
Category:1984 births Category:Living people Category:Canadian political consultants Category:Canadian Zionists Category:Green Party of Canada Category:Jewish Canadian activists Category:Canadian LGBTQ people Category:LGBTQ Jews Category:People from Halifax, Nova Scotia
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