Pollster Gregg Goes Solo

Canadian pollster and social commentator Allan Gregg has left his position as Chairman of The Strategic Counsel to set up on his own.

From 1979 to 1993, Gregg was the official pollster of the Progressive Conservative Party at Decima Research, a company he founded in 1979. He sold Decima to public relations giant Hill & Knowlton in 1989, but stayed on as the boss until 1994, before co-founding research-based consulting and communications firm The Strategic Counsel in 1995.

Gregg said he does not have specific plans for his new business, but it will probably involve market research and public opinion. He will either work on his own, team up with a small number of colleagues or 'hook up with someone else that has a different kind of corporate structure.'

When asked if he believes he can make a lot more money on his own, he replied: 'I think I've got a market value, yeah.'

Gregg regularly appears on CTV programming and is the host of two talk shows – Gregg and Company and Allan Gregg In Conversation With – and is a frequent contributor to newspapers and magazines. He also previously managed the rock band The Tragically Hip and ran a record firm. Gregg said that he will continue to write, carry out public speaking engagements, and remain involved with the music business.

The Strategic Counsel will be managed by Gregg's six former partners who include Peter Donolo, who served in the 1990s as Director of Communications for former prime minister Jean Chrétien. With offices based in Toronto and Ottawa, the firm is online at www.thestrategiccounsel.com , while Gregg's blog site is at www.allangregg.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.