David Pratt (politician) - Career After Politics

Career After Politics

Following his electoral loss, Pratt joined the Canadian Red Cross as a Special Advisor in November 2004. He has worked in the area of conflict prevention, small arms and light weapons and international humanitarian law. In 2006, he helped initiate the Canadian Red Cross’s Auxiliary to Government project. The project sought to improve the cooperation between the Canadian Red Cross and governments at all levels in Canada, especially in the area of emergency management. It emphasized the special and distinct role that Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies have under domestic and international law and the Statutes of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The project also sought to obtain new legislation to replace the outdated The Canadian Red Cross Society Act, 1909. As the project leader, Pratt authored a discussion paper entitled: "Toward a Renewed Canadian Red Cross – Forging Stronger Partnerships In Support of a Humanitarian Agenda" and the project’s interim report entitled: "Revitalizing the Framework of Cooperation with Public Authorities".

In July 2008, Pratt left the Canadian Red Cross and ran as the Liberal candidate in the riding of Ottawa West—Nepean where he faced incumbent minister John Baird. He received 20,161 votes or 36.1 percent compared to Baird’s 25,109 votes and 44.9 percent of the vote. Following the election, Pratt worked as a consultant. In 2009 and 2010, he spent over five months in Baghdad, Iraq employed by AECOM on the USAID sponsored Iraq Legislative Strengthening Program. Pratt was responsible for organizing an orientation and training program for newly elected Iraqi MPs. He also provided teaching material on legislative committees, the concept of parliamentary privilege and codes of ethics for parliamentarians. In August 2009, a three vehicle convoy in which Pratt and four other colleagues were travelling was hit by an IED. The explosion, which occurred in the Red Zone in Baghdad, caused significant vehicle damage and blew out windows in the surrounding area, but no one was hurt.

In January 2011, Pratt accepted the position of Vice President of Public Affairs with GCI Canada, a public relations and public affairs company with offices in Toronto and Ottawa. GCI Canada is owned by WPP plc, a global media communications services company with its main management office in London, United Kingdom and its executive office in Dublin, Republic of Ireland. WPP is the world's largest advertising group by revenues, and has over 2,400 offices in 107 countries. It owns a number of advertising, public relations and market research networks, including Grey, Burson-Marsteller, Hill & Knowlton, JWT, Ogilvy Group, TNS and Young & Rubicam.

Pratt is a director of the Conference of Defence Associations of Canada, a fellow and member of the advisory board of the Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute. He is also an honorary member of the Royal Military College of Canada and serves on the board of directors of Serenity House, a residential substance abuse treatment centre in Ottawa.

He has authored several papers and lectures including: “Re-tooling for New Challenges: Parliaments as Peace-builders”, (June 2005), “Is There a Grand Strategy in Canadian Foreign Policy” Ellis Lectures, University of Calgary, Centre for Military and Strategic Studies, (June 12–14, 2007) and “Canadian Grand Strategy and Lessons Learned” (April 2008), Journal of Transatlantic Studies, United Kingdom). More recently, (March 2011) he authored a paper on Canada’s Reserve Forces entitled “Canada’s Citizen Soldiers: A Discussion Paper” for the Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute.