John Phillip Webster is a Canadian bank executive with The Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank), serving as President & CEO of the Scotia Mortgage Authority. He formerly served as the President & CEO of Maple Trust, who were acquired by Scotiabank in 2006.
Webster was born in Drummondville, Quebec, although he grew up in Perth, Ontario. He attended Wilfrid Laurier University, a member of the 1978 Yates Cup team, and went on to study law at McGill University, earning both a BCL and an LLB in 1983.
Webster is active in the Liberal Party, and was a key strategist for the Paul Martin leadership campaign, credited as one of three main Martin advisers to internally topple the Chrétien regime in 2003.[1] He served as one of three National Campaign Co-Chairs in the 2004 Federal Election, as a chief strategist for Prime Minister Martin.[2] Prior to supporting Martin, Webster served as campaign director for both former Prime Minister John Turner and former Ontario Premier David Peterson.[3] Most recently, Webster was a supporter of former Ontario Premier Bob Rae's Liberal leadership bid.[4]
Webster received his undergraduate diploma from Wilfrid Laurier University, and his BCL & LLB from McGill University.