Former CBC bureau chief Elly Alboim, 78, remembered for his lasting mark on politics

OTTAWA — Longtime CBC News parliamentary bureau chief and Carleton University journalism professor Elly Alboim, who died last week at age 78, is being remembered for his lasting mark on politics and for helping to launch generations of new political journalists.

Born to Polish immigrant parents, Alboim served as CBC’s parliamentary bureau chief from 1977 to 1993, and for 30 years as a strategic communications adviser at Earnscliffe Strategies. He also taught for 45 years at Carleton University’s school of journalism, where he trained CBC News’ chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton and many others.

His family said he died on Feb. 8 of heart failure. Tributes have rolled in for Alboim over the past week from cabinet ministers, strategists and journalists.

Barton, who studied under Alboim while completing a master of journalism degree at Carleton University, remembers him as someone who could be intimidating but also had a real desire to pass on knowledge to students.

“He just had such a different way of thinking about things. He saw things happening before they happened,” Barton said.

“He was really strategic. He didn’t suffer fools — all those sorts of clichés, but they were true. He also cared about people.”

Scott Reid worked alongside Alboim when, following his time at the CBC, he served as a senior adviser to Paul Martin during his years as finance minister and prime minister. Reid said he first became acquainted with Alboim when he worked on Parliament Hill as a summer student in the late 1980s.

Reid said no one in Ottawa was more connected than Alboim — he had the personal phone numbers and respect of every key political leader, business person and public servant.

“He was an absolutely critical contact they needed to establish in order to be taken seriously in this city,” Reid said.

“Elly never sought out the spotlight, and it wasn’t out of false modesty or some theatrical aversion. He simply didn’t value that kind of profile, (yet) he had incredible influence for decades in Ottawa.”

While Alboim could be seen as something of a curmudgeon, Reid said, his gift for pinpointing policy flaws and building on a foundation of facts made him a valued adviser to Martin and to former Ontario Liberal leader Kathleen Wynne, among others.

Reid said Alboim could sit around a table listening to politicians and public servants talk, holding his comments to the end before poking holes in their arguments and, often, leading them to rethink a strategy.

Alboim’s name was even floated for the job of clerk of the Privy Council during Martin’s time in office.

“It’s hard to compare the influence of someone like that,” Reid said. “There was an unflinching rigour in his analysis and his perspective.”

Journalist Paul Adams worked with Alboim at CBC and later at Carleton University. He said Alboim was “already an institution” when he started working with him at the public broadcaster.

“He was the smartest guy in most of the rooms he was in, but he was also aware that he was often not the most knowledgeable,” Adams said.

“He had a deep belief in the importance of public policy, and he had a deep belief in journalism as a democratic instrument of holding those in public life to account.”

Adams said that while Alboim was a serious boss, he would make time for reporters to pester him with questions and often held court for dozens of CBC staffers when the newsroom was quiet.

“He was acknowledged as the greatest bureau chief of his generation,” Adams said, noting those in similar positions in other newsrooms would often tap him for advice.

“If he disagreed with you, you’d be unwise not to rethink your position.”

Rob Russo, a former parliamentary bureau chief for CBC, said he studied Alboim’s strategy in the job and “shamelessly aped everything that he did … If you look up the gold standard of news leadership, he was right there.”

“When Elly led the CBC, no news report was more vital than listening to — and watching — than the CBC. And it was because of Elly.”

Alboim is survived by his wife Kathy, their three children and seven grandchildren, who describe him as someone who always kept his family in mind throughout his busy career.

“His impact on everyone who knew and loved him cannot be overstated … Elly was a great man, but more importantly, he was a good man. And that is what he will be remembered for,” the family’s obituary reads.

In a social media post, Earnscliffe Strategies said Alboim left a “remarkable legacy” in public policy, political reporting and education. Liberal House leader Steven MacKinnon called Alboim “a passionate and fierce Canadian and a source of the best political advice available.”

A private funeral was held for immediate family and a celebration of Alboim’s life is planned for next month at Carleton University’s school of journalism.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 17, 2026.

Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press