The School of Public Policy and Global Affairs (SPPGA) welcomes Diamond Isinger as an Expert in Residence, a new opportunity being launched to connect students and faculty with experienced practitioners focusing on timely and emergent global issues. This program strengthens SPPGA’s connection to both academia and practice, offering students with unique opportunities to learn directly from leaders shaping public policy in Canada and beyond.
During her residency with SPPGA during February and March 2026, Diamond will engage with students and the SPPGA community through classroom simulations, guest lectures, community events, open office hours, faculty roundtables, and more.
About Diamond
photo credit: Saumya Kamra
Diamond Isinger is a public policy professional with extensive experience in advocacy, international trade policy, and Canada-U.S. relations, currently working with corporate and non-profit clients as a policy consultant and strategic advisor.
She most recently worked in the Prime Minister’s Office in 2025 as special advisor on Canada-U.S. relations, coinciding with the start of a second Trump administration, engaging directly with industry, labour, senior government officials, and policy leaders across North America on tariffs, trade, border security, and related topics. Previously in 2017 and 2018, she was an advisor at PMO during renegotiations of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), now Canada-US-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), where she assisted the Prime Minister with trade developments and Canada’s advocacy activities in and to the United States during the first Trump administration, including for PM travel to destinations throughout the U.S., ministerial meetings with cabinet counterparts, and other high-level engagements with Americans.
Beyond the PMO, Diamond previously served in the Office of the Minister of International Trade at Global Affairs Canada, involved with Canada’s policy and trade agenda during talks towards the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and with the Obama administration on softwood lumber. Outside of government, she has held progressively senior positions at policy-oriented organizations as a manager or director responsible for public affairs portfolios.
Known for her practical approach, Diamond brings a strong understanding of how policy is shaped in fast-moving and unpredictable political contexts. She regularly speaks and writes about these interconnected challenges and their effects on Canadians, including commentary for media outlets like CBC, CTV, BNN Bloomberg, Al Jazeera, Politico, Toronto Star, and National Post.
Events with Diamond Isinger
- Gender, Power, and Policy Influence in an Era of DEI Retrenchment
Thu Feb 12, 2026 at 1pm | Liu Institute, Place of Many Trees - State of the Union Address Watch Party & Debrief
Tue Feb 24, 2026 at 6pm | Liu Institute, Place of Many Trees - Policy, Power, and the Shaping of Public Discourse
Wed Mar 18, 2026 at 1pm | Liu Institute, Place of Many Trees
