One of BC's best known political commentators,
columnist, and strategist
Bill Tieleman is one of BC’s best-known political strategists and campaigners; running his strategy and communications consulting firm – West Star Communications – since 1998.
Bill is a very successful campaigner – playing leading roles in winning four consecutive BC binding referenda – as president of the opponent group that defeated Proportional Representation in 2018 with a 61% win, following twice defeating pro-rep in 2005 and 2009; and as Strategist for Fight HST, the Harmonized Sales Tax was eliminated in a 2011 binding referendum, after BC’s only successful Citizens Initiative Petition across the province.
Bill served as Communications Director to then-BC NDP Premier Glen Clark in his upset 1996 election victory and also as BC Federation of Labour Communications Director and Assistant to then-President Ken Georgetti. For over 16 years Bill Tieleman wrote a weekly politics column in 24 Hours Vancouver newspaper, The Tyee online magazine and the Georgia Straight newspaper; he does regular political commentary on television, radio, online and in print.
Bill provides strategy, communications and government relations advice to a wide range of clients, including labour, business, indigenous, environmental and not-for-profit organizations.
Bill announced in June 2022 that he is seeking nomination as a Vancouver City Council candidate with the TEAM For A Livable Vancouver party, led by Mayoral Candidate Colleen Hardwick.
Regularly interviewed by the media about politics, Tieleman has appeared on Global TV news, CBC and CKNW radio, the Globe and Mail, the National Post, CBC TV’s The National, Canada Now and News Network, Maclean’s magazine, CITY TV, CTV, BCTV, the Vancouver Sun and Province newspapers and BC Business magazine.
In his early career, Tieleman was a reporter and freelance journalist writing for publications such as the Vancouver Sun and the Montreal Gazette, and was National Bureau Chief for the Canadian University Press in Ottawa. He holds a Masters’ Degree in Political Science from the University of BC.
On the personal side, Bill is an expert on wine who has a wine and food blog winebarbarian.blogspot.com and is a good cook and photographer with an abiding interest in baseball and Jazz.
