OUR TEAM
Senator Deacon and his team are committed to finding solutions that challenge the status quo. Specifically, we are looking for ways in which Canada’s diverse and innovative communities can be empowered by building an inclusive culture of entrepreneurship.
The Honourable Colin Deacon
Independent Senator, Nova Scotia
Senator Colin Deacon (he/him) was appointed to represent Nova Scotia in the Senate of Canada in June 2018. A lifelong entrepreneur, he passionately believes that we must build a more inclusive economy if we want a more resilient economy. As a result, Senator Deacon believes that entrepreneurship is a tool to not just enable economic empowerment in communities across our country, but to create positive social change. Recently, he is most focused on harnessing the digital economy, improving Canada’s public and private sector competitiveness, and incentivizing and empowering the private sector to aggressively address climate change.
For press inquiries, Senator Deacon's official biography and photo can be found here. A profile of the Senator can also be found here.
David Dlab
Director of Parliamentary Affairs
(2020 - )
David (he/him) is an accomplished corporate finance professional with eight years of experience in the private sector before joining Senator Deacon's office. He worked previously at George Weston, Finning International, and ExxonMobil, where he got exposure to the retail, mining, maritime and energy sectors. His roles in the treasuries of these companies had a focus on capital structure, corporate liquidity management, credit analysis and M&A. He is passionate about finding market based solutions to the complex challenges facing Canadian society and the global economy. He speaks four languages and has lived in various cities both in Canada and around the world.
David holds a MBA from the UBC Sauder School of Business and a BSc in Mathematics and Economics from the University of Montreal.
Benedicta Arthur
Parliamentary Affairs Advisor
(2020 - )
Benedicta (she/her) is a dynamic professional with experience working in the international and nonprofit sphere. Prior to joining the Senate, she worked at the United Nations Office for Project Services in Geneva, Switzerland, TED Conferences in New York City and the American Red Cross in Michigan. She is passionate about finding innovative solutions to achieve effective and inclusive legislative and public policy outcomes.
Benedicta holds a BA in International Relations and Strategic Communication from Calvin University and a MA in Political Studies from the University of Saskatchewan.
Caelen MacDonald
Legal Intern
(2023 - )
Caelan (she/her) is in her final semester of law school at the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Common Law. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) from Queen’s University, where she studied Gender Studies, Indigenous Studies and received her Certificate in Law. She is passionate about dismantling discrimination and inequality and has valued the opportunity to bring this experience to innovative business environments.
Caelan applies her legal skill set towards supporting innovation, competition and technology in Canada. Before coming to the Senate, she helped develop and train large language models (LLMs) while working with a Canadian artificial intelligence startup. Her legal education has been marked by a dedicated focus on technology law, with particular interests in privacy, data governance, and digital policy.
She looks forward to opportunities that allow her to both learn from and contribute to enhancing the state of competition in the country. Following law school Caelan plans to pursue private practice in Toronto where she aims to further leverage her skills and knowledge to make meaningful contributions.