Nigel S. Wright

Wright rejoined Onex in July 2014 as a managing director in the buyout firm's offices in London, England.

On April 15, 2014, the RCMP dropped its nearly year-long investigation into Wright, saying "the evidence gathered does not support criminal charges against Mr. Wright." The RCMP would later lay 31 charges on Duffy on July 17, 2014.; Duffy was exonerated of all 31 charges on April 21, 2016 and Wright's actions were condemned by Justice Charles Vaillancourt as "mindboggling and shocking" and "unacceptable" "in the context of a democratic society".

Wright wrote a personal cheque of $90,172 to Senator Mike Duffy, covering the cost of residency expenses that were later shown to be valid claims. At the time, Duffy was under intense media pressure over these expenses, despite the fact he had a home in Prince Edward Island and a second home near Ottawa. A Conservative Party spokesman confirmed the money was a gift from Wright, with no expectation of repayment. Shortly before his resignation, the Ethics Commissioner confirmed it was investigating Wright for his repayment of these expenses. Wright then left government service. On October 28, 2013, PM Harper stated in an interview that Wright did not resign, but was in fact dismissed. Wright decided to stay in Ottawa until the RCMP wraps up its investigation of the Senate.

In the Hill Times annual ranking of the top 100 Most Influential People in Government and Politics, Wright placed sixth in 2012 and in Maclean's 25 Most important People in Ottawa he placed fifth in 2012.

Involved in Conservative politics from his days in college, he gravitated between the Progressive Conservative and Reform parties for years, trying to draft Stephen Harper to unite the then-divided right-wing forces. He was eventually successful and became a founding director of the Conservative Fund Canada, the party's financial arm, and a director of Preston Manning's think tank in Calgary. In 2010, Wright was drafted by Stephen Harper to replace Guy Giorno as his chief of staff. In accepting the position, Wright left behind a seven-figure salary for a job described by Derek Burney as "exhilarating but more strenuous than anything else I did in the public or private sector". The appointment attracted pointed criticism and questions about his ties to Bay Street; many in the opposition feared that he was too close to the private sector. During his appointment hearing, New Democratic Party MP Pat Martin told him that "Every move you make, every breath you take puts you in a conflict of interest." Before starting the job, he had to negotiate with the Ethics Commissioner an "ethical wall" designed to insulate him from his holdings and other interests.

At college, Wright was a campus activist for Brian Mulroney and co-founded The University of Toronto Magazine; as editor, he emerged as an admirer of Margaret Thatcher. Wright went on to earn an LL.B (Honours) at the University of Toronto Law School in 1988 and LL.M. at Harvard Law School. Robert Prichard, chair of Torys LLP and former head of University of Toronto's law school, called Wright "among the very best and brightest of his generation."

In 1984, Wright was asked by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney to go on hiatus from the University of Toronto Faculty of Law and work for Charley McMillan, his senior policy adviser. Wright took the job, and after returning to graduate from Toronto Law and then earning a Master of Laws from Harvard Law School, he returned to work as policy coordinator for Mulroney before Kim Campbell became Prime Minister.

Nigel S. Wright (born May 18, 1963) is a Canadian businessman and lawyer. He served as the thirteenth Chief of Staff of the Office of the Prime Minister of Canada, from September 2010 to May 2013 and is a Managing Director in the London office of Onex Corporation. Wright left the Prime Minister's Office after it was reported that he had given his own money to help Senator Mike Duffy repay the government for legitimate housing expenses that were, at the time, the subject of media and political controversy.