Scott Gilmore
Canadian entrepreneur and writer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Scott Gilmore is a Canadian social entrepreneur, former Canadian foreign service officer, and writer who is currently the senior advisor on foreign, defence, and security policy to Prime Minister Mark Carney. He is known for founding the non-profit Building Markets and as an advocate for capitalist expansion in the international development and charity sectors
London School of Economics (M.Sc.)
- Social entrepreneur
- writer
- diplomat
Scott Gilmore | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Alma mater | University of Alberta (B.Com.) London School of Economics (M.Sc.) |
| Occupation |
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| Known for | Founding Building Markets |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 3 |
| Parent(s) |
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| Relatives | Patrick Gilmore (brother) |
Early life and education
Gilmore was born in northern Manitoba, the son of hockey player Tom Gilmore and Collette Gilmore. He is the brother of actor Patrick Gilmore. The family settled in Edmonton, Alberta when his father played for the World Hockey Association version of the Edmonton Oilers. Gilmore obtained a Bachelor of Commerce degree at the University of Alberta,[1] followed by a master's degree in international history from the London School of Economics.[2]
Career
Gilmore was a Canadian foreign service officer who began his career in Jakarta. From that post he covered the civil war resulting from the Indonesian occupation of East Timor, and later joined the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) peacekeeping mission under Sergio de Mello. In that role he became disillusioned with ineffective donor efforts to fight poverty. Based on this experience he quit his job as a diplomat in 2004 to launch the non-profit Building Markets.[3] and focus on capitalism instead of aid as a sustainable poverty solution.[4]
In 2006 Gilmore led a World Bank study to trace spending in peacekeeping missions that revealed only 5% of donor money entered the local economies. Based on those findings Gilmore launched a project in Afghanistan to channel international spending through local small businesses. This approach was successful and expanded to other countries.[2] Building Market's "buy local" policy was officially adopted by NATO, the United States government, and the United Nations.[1][5] In 2013 Gilmore was appointed to by the External Advisory Group overseeing the merger of the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade with the Canadian International Development Agency.[6] He had previously been supportive of the merger.[7]
From 2014-2022, Gilmore wrote a weekly column for the Canadian week national newsmagazine Maclean's on issues such foreign affairs[8][9] and Canadian identity.[10][11][12]
Political Activism
During the 2017 Conservative leadership race, he was critical of Conservative Party of Canada candidates and advocated to building a new party around liberty, equality and facts over ideology.[13] Gilmore traveled across the country to start a conversation over it.[14]
On March 2025, Gilmore announced on LinkedIn that he was joining the prime minister office as senior advisor on foreign, defence, and security policy to Prime Minister Mark Carney.[15]
Awards and honours
Gilmore was named as "Transformational Canadian" by The Globe and Mail[2] and a Young Global Leaders by the World Economic Forum. In 2009 he was awarded the $765,000 Skoll Prize for Social Entrepreneurship by philanthropist Jeff Skoll.[16] The University of Alberta awarded him a Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2013.[1] He received a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for professional excellence.[17]
Personal life
Gilmore was married to Catherine McKenna, former Liberal MP for Ottawa Centre and former cabinet minister until separating in 2019. They have three children together.[18][19]
