Northern Arc Public Affairs is a Calgary-based public affairs and government relations firm. We work with Canadian companies, associations, and organizations to advance their interests with elected officials and decision-makers at the federal, provincial, and municipal levels of government.
Our principals have served at the highest levels of Canadian government. That experience — at the Cabinet table, in the Prime Minister's Office, and as Senior Advisors to multiple Ministers — is the foundation of the counsel and the relationships Northern Arc brings to every engagement.
Kent Hehr is the Principal of Northern Arc Public Affairs and a former federal Cabinet Minister in the Government of Canada.
Kent served as Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities and as Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence. He sat at the Cabinet table where funding decisions are approved, policy directions are set, and departmental mandates are shaped. He understands, from direct experience, how Ministers evaluate priorities, how Deputy Ministers assess files, and how decisions are made at the highest levels of the federal government.
Before entering federal politics, Kent served three terms as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, representing the riding of Calgary-Buffalo. He practised law in Calgary and holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Alberta.
Kent is a member of the Privy Council of Canada (P.C.) and holds the designation Hon. Kent Hehr, P.C., LL.B. He is based in Calgary, Alberta.
Abed Harb is the Managing Partner of Northern Arc Public Affairs.
He spent almost a decade in the Government of Canada, serving as Director of Operations and Senior Advisor to multiple federal Ministers, and in the Ministers' Regional Office, the hub through which all federal ministerial offices, including the Prime Minister's Office, coordinate on priorities, stakeholder relationships, and the funding and regulatory decisions that shape outcomes for businesses and communities.
Abed has directed Canada's delegations at G7, G20, and UNFAO forums.
Before entering government, he worked as a Senior Business Development Analyst focused on mergers and acquisitions at a major Calgary-based pipeline company.
Doug Holt, MBA, is a Senior Advisor to Northern Arc Public Affairs.
Doug served as Associate Vice President at Alberta Innovates, where he oversaw innovation funding programs and worked with technology companies across Alberta navigating government funding and commercialization.
Doug brings a distinctive combination of expertise: deep knowledge of Canadian federal and provincial funding programs alongside fluency in capital markets, debt structures, and how private financing interacts with government support. He provides strategic counsel on innovation funding, Alberta provincial programs, technology sector positioning, and the intersection of government funding with capital strategy. He is based in Alberta.
Effective government relations requires more than familiarity with program guidelines. It requires an understanding of how decisions are actually made: the policy priorities of the elected officials responsible for a file, the analytical framework of the public servants who evaluate it, and the broader government agenda that shapes what gets approved and what does not.
Northern Arc engages directly with elected officials and senior public servants on behalf of our clients. We develop the relationships, the briefings, and the advocacy strategy that ensure our clients' priorities are understood by the right people at the right time. We are registered lobbyists operating under the Lobbying Act of Canada, and we bring the full rigour of that framework to every engagement.
We work with Canadian companies, associations, and organizations across a range of sectors: technology and artificial intelligence, defence and aerospace, cleantech and net-zero, advanced manufacturing, agri-food, and Indigenous economic development. Our clients range from growth-stage companies pursuing their first significant federal engagement to established organizations with complex, multi-department files.
Northern Arc is headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. We work with clients across Canada on files at the federal, provincial, and municipal levels of government.
Northern Arc Public Affairs is a registered lobbying firm. Our principals are registered lobbyists under the Lobbying Act of Canada. Our registration is public record and available through the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying. We are members of the Government Relations Institute of Canada (GRIC) and operate in full compliance with all applicable federal and provincial lobbying regulations.