Brian Topp was born in Longueuil, Quebec and grew up on the south shore of Montreal. He graduated from McGill in 1983. In 1993, Topp moved to Saskatchwan to work for Roy Romanow as Director of Research and Deputy Chief of Staff. Topp then joined the Credit Union Central of Canada as vice-president and then senior vice-president. In 2001, he was appointed Executive Director and CEO of ACTRA Toronto. Topp served as Jack Layton's national campaign director in the 2006 and 2008 elections, and was Layton's lead negotiator during the 2008 coalition discussions with the Liberals and Bloc. In May 2011, Topp was elected president of the the federal NDP. In addition, Topp recently served as an advisor to the BC NDP caucus, and as the party’s campaign director.