Q&A with Mat Snowie

As the Liberal Party of Canada’s videographer, VIU Creative Writing alum Mat Snowie has seen almost every part of the country and met a lot of high-profile politicians along the way – including, of course, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whom he films every few weeks.

Snowie, who graduated in 2013, is responsible for all the video recording and animation work done for the Liberal Party. He is also involved in the Liberal Party’s live productions, which are broadcast to Facebook, and he produces special video products for everything from their biennial conventions to staff parties. Snowie credits his BA and the extracurricular activities he participated in while at VIU with giving him the unique skill-set needed to be successful at his job —he was published in two issues of Portal, a student-run literary magazine; wrote film articles for The Navigator student newspaper; wrote and directed scripts for the VIU Satyr Players acting group; and directed the year-end show for the senior acting cla­­ss in 2013.

In between assignments, Snowie took a moment to give us a glimpse of life in the inner circle of the federal political scene. 

How did you get your current gig?

An application for a paid internship at the Liberal Party was recommended to me by a friend and my film portfolio got me the job. My three-month internship in 2014 went well and they offered me a contract through to the end of the 2015 election. Then I was offered an expanded role after the new government was sworn in.

What was your first week on the job like?

At first I had a few small tasks like cleaning up friend requests on LinkedIn, but then I was handed a plane ticket to Toronto and given a schedule of events to film the next morning. After I landed, I found Justin Trudeau at a tailor shop and filmed him walking for six blocks to the offices of Adam Vaughan’s byelection campaign while he greeted and chatted with half the population of Toronto. I filmed the speeches and the pre­­ss conference, got a taxi to Queen’s Park, didn’t get in and nearly missed him leaving, and then got another taxi to rush ahead of him to get set up at a rally event with hundreds of people packed into a theatre in Little Italy. Then I had a beer. And then I flew back to Ottawa and made my first video.

What do you like most about ­­your job?

The ever-changing nature of current events and politics and social media means that I always have new challenges and opportunities. I get to explore new technologies and techniques in an industry that is changing daily. I also get to travel sometimes, which has allowed me to see almost every part of the country. I’m only missing the Yukon now.

What’s Justin Trudeau like behind the scenes?

He is a very genuine person who actually takes an interest in the people he meets and works with, and he is usually the smartest or at least the most curious person in the room. During the election campaign, when he toured factories and science labs, he would have endless questions for the tour guides. Now that he is the Prime Minister, he is usually focused on getting through it to get on with his busy day, but unless he is very rushed he’ll still make time to talk about the latest Star Wars rumours.

Can you share a highlight from the job?

I turned 26 five days before the election in 2015, so by then we’d been living out of suitcases for two months and sleeping in different hotels every night. But that evening on the plane, as we relocated for the next day’s events, I was surprised by a cake and Justin Trudeau leading all the staff and journalists in a rendition of Happy Birthday.

What’s next for you?

There will be plenty of things keeping me busy for the next few years, particularly a convention in Halifax in 2018, and then I look forward to being a part of Justin Trudeau’s 2019 re-election campaign. After that, I’ll have to wait to find out, but I see a film or TV production in my future and maybe a novel if I can keep my head down in the evenings.

*This article originally appeared in the Winter 2017/18 edition of VIU Magazine. Check out more stories on the VIU Magazine webpage.