Title
Chairman, Summa Communications
Company
Chairman, Abacus Data; Partner, Spark Advocacy
Bio
Bruce Anderson is one of Canada's most respected public opinion researchers and strategic communications advisors. In 1980, he was appointed Special Assistant to the Federal Minister Responsible for Government Communications. In 1983, he joined Decima Research, and was appointed President of Decima in 1989, at the age of 32. Mr. Anderson left to become a founding partner of the Earnscliffe Strategy Group and helped lead that highly regarded company for 15 years.
He rejoined Decima as CEO in 2004, as and led the company for 4 years of growth, during which it was twice named one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies. After completing a transaction with Harris Interactive in 2008, Mr. Anderson opened his own research boutique. In 2013 he became Chairman of Abacus Data, one of Canada’s fastest growing young research companies.
In 2012, he helped found a new advertising boutique, i2 Ideas and Issues Advertising, which blends creative and media planning skills to build winning public affairs campaigns. The firm has become a leader in its market, serving a wide range of industries including mining, oil and gas, pipelines, telecom, banking, defense and security and urban transit.
Mr. Anderson advises many blue-chip corporate clients and industry associations and has done years of in-depth polling on politics and public policy. He has worked extensively with the Canadian Energy Pipelines Association. He has served as a top advisor for several political leaders in the Liberal and Progressive Conservative parties.
He is one of Canada’s leading commentators on public opinion and political affairs, a regular member of the CBC’s popular At Issue panel and writes a weekly online column for the Globe and Mail, Canada’s national newspaper.