Deputy Minister in the Office of the Premier of British Columbia (1982 to 1986) and Chief of Staff to former prime minister Brian Mulroney (1990 to 1992)

Chris Wattie/Reuters

What surprised you the most about your time in government?

The volume of work, the hours, the pressure and the visibility of errors.

What are you most proud of in terms of your contributions there?

Having managed Karlheinz Schreiber's Bear Head project in such a way that no public servant lost his job.

What issue/situation do you wish you could have had another crack at?

Karlheinz Schreiber's Bear Head project, which, though declared dead, did not die.

Who is your political hero?

Peter Lougheed.

What did you admire the most about the Prime Minister and Premier you worked with?

Their toughness and self-control under pressure.

What do you say to people who are cynical about politicians and their motivations?

The best politicians are those consistently scrutinized by intelligent journalists and intelligent opposition members.

What current issue do you think politicians should spend more time focusing on?

The decline of the U.S. in the international system and its implications for Canada.

Did your time at McGill prepare you in any way for life in government?

Student Council bore no relation to what I found in politics and government after leaving McGill. On the other hand, McGill's international reputation, its generally excellent professors and the group of first-rate students I had the privilege of knowing, prepared me well for graduate school. Studying in Quebec, with the French fact all around us, has been enormously helpful. It also helped me realize that I would have to leave Quebec if I hoped ever to advise a premier and a prime minister.

Norman Spector is a political columnist whose work appears regularly in both the Globe and Mail and Le Devoir and is the author of Chronicle of a War Foretold: How Mideast Peace Became America's Fight. His daily press review is available at www.members.shaw.ca/nspector4.