Who is behind Churchill Strategy?
Winston Pon — two provincial war rooms, a Premier's office, and genuine standing in the communities most campaigns only talk about reaching.
Winston Pon was Director of Digital to the Premier of Alberta from 2019 to 2022, and founded Churchill Strategy on leaving. He has worked the war rooms of the United Conservative Party of Alberta and the Saskatchewan Party, run the Conservative Party of Canada's Axe the Tax Tour, managed a contested UCP nomination, and led four campaigns in 2025 across Alberta and British Columbia. He organises the Canada National Lion Dance Championship and is Host Country Organizer for the 2026 Pan American championship.
What is the full record?
| Year | Role | Organisation |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Host Country Organizer | Pan American Traditional Lion Dance Sport Championship, Canada |
| 2026 | Organizer | Canada National Lion Dance Championship |
| 2025 | Organizer | Canada National Lion Dance Championship |
| 2025 | Campaign lead | Kerry Diotte, Edmonton Griesbach — federal |
| 2025 | Digital | TEAM for a Livable Vancouver, by-election — British Columbia |
| 2025 | Campaign lead | Rahim Jaffer, “For All of Edmonton” mayoral campaign |
| 2025 | Campaign lead | Thu Parmar, municipal election |
| 2024 | War room | Saskatchewan Party |
| 2023 | Tour | Conservative Party of Canada, Axe the Tax Tour |
| 2023 | Nomination campaign manager | Dr. Raj Sherman, UCP nomination, Edmonton-Whitemud |
| 2022 | Founder | Churchill Strategy |
| 2019–2022 | Director of Digital | Office of the Premier of Alberta — COVID-19 public health response, Alberta's Recovery Plan, Alberta is Calling |
| 2019 | War room | United Conservative Party of Alberta |
Inside the Premier's Office, 2019–2022
Beyond party work, the role covered province-wide public service campaigns: the COVID-19 public health response, Alberta's Recovery Plan, and Alberta is Calling.
These are not partisan campaigns. They are government communications aimed at an entire population — asking people to change behaviour in an emergency, to believe in an economic plan, and to move province to take a job. Between them they cover public health, policy and destination at a scale most agencies never touch.
Culture, sport and place
Organizer of the Canada National Lion Dance Championship in 2025 and 2026, and Host Country Organizer for the 2026 Pan American Traditional Lion Dance Sport Championship. Producer of Edmonton Chinatown's largest outdoor festival — three days, more than 8,500 visitors. Curator of the award-winning Edmonton Chinatown Dragon food tour.
There is a common skill running underneath the campaign work and the cultural work: making people physically turn up. A national tour, a championship and a three-day street festival are the same operational problem as a rally — build the crowd, and hold it.
Why both halves matter
Campaigns across Canada invest heavily in reaching diaspora and multicultural communities and are mostly poor at it, for a structural reason: the people who run war rooms rarely have standing in those communities, and the people with standing rarely run war rooms.
Nomination contests are where that gap becomes visible. A nomination is not won on advertising — it is won on membership, and membership is won through community networks, one association and one kitchen table at a time. Managing the 2023 UCP nomination for Dr. Raj Sherman in Edmonton-Whitemud is the clearest evidence that both halves are held by the same person.
Is the firm partisan?
The campaign record is Conservative. It is published here in full because it is verifiable in a single search, and because hiding it would be both futile and worse than declaring it.
Partisan electoral work is taken by named individuals rather than by the firm. We do not act for a partisan campaign and a publicly funded client in the same jurisdiction at the same time.
If you are a public institution, a federation or a destination board weighing whether that record is a problem for your procurement or your board, ask us directly. We would rather have the conversation in the first meeting than the fourth.
Who does the work on your file?
The partner who writes your position runs your engagement. If they are substituted without your written agreement, that month is free.
This is the whole delivery model, and it is the reason the firm stays small. There is no account team, no junior layer, and no handover after the pitch. It is also why we decline implementation work — capacity spent there is capacity not available for the file that needs a partner in the room.