CAPE public-service union elects Nathan Prier as its new president

Nathan Prier led a field of five candidates in the election by securing 929 of 2,405 votes cast (38.6 per cent).

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Published Dec 14, 2023 • Last updated 11 hours ago • 2 minute read

CAPE said Thursday that Nathan Prier would begin his three-year mandate as its president on Jan. 1, 2024. He received just under 40 per cent of the votes in the election period that ended Wednesday. Photo by Canadian Association of Professional Employees /HANDOUT

Members of the Canadian Association of Professional Employees have elected Nathan Prier as the union’s new president.

The union posted on its website Thursday that Prier would begin his three-year mandate on Jan. 1, 2024, on a full-time basis.

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“Mr. Prier will be taking time away from his role as a senior economist at Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, where he has worked since 2019, as well as being President of Local 508,” a statement by the union read. “He will bring his workplace, labour movement and social movement experience as a leader and organizer to the role of president, and vows to build up strong locals, institute major democratic overhauls and mobilize the membership.”

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Prier will be the third president CAPE has had in less than a year.

He is taking on the role following the resignation of Camille Awada, who stepped in as president after Greg Phillips resigned earlier this year.

Awada submitted his resignation in early November after antisemitic social-media posts by him dating back to 2018 and 2019 began circulating among union members. At a special meeting, CAPE’s national executive committee designated vice-president Scott Crawford to take on the role of interim president until Dec. 31. Jonathan Brulotte was named interim vice-president.

Phillips cited personal reasons when he resigned in early May, followed by allegations of impropriety.

The election period ran from Nov. 30 to Dec. 13, with all national executive committee posts up for grabs, including 30 president, vice-president and director positions.

Prier secured the presidency with 929 of 2,405 votes cast (38.6 per cent). Other candidates included Kelly Mansfield (509), Granda Kopytko (374), Bernadeth Betchi (225) and Sami Rehman (169), with 199 people choosing to abstain.

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This election, the union said, delivered a “diverse board of directors,” including CAPE’s first two female vice-presidents: Annie Yeo and Caroline Pageau.

“The 2023 CAPE election stood out with a record number of candidates running for various positions and the most diverse pool of candidates representing a wide range of equity-deserving groups in CAPE’s election history,” Thursday’s union statement read.

CAPE is Canada’s third-largest federal public service union, representing more than 24,000 members in the Economics and Social Science Services and Translation groups, as well as employees of the Library of Parliament, the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer and RCMP civilian members.

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