Conaptus philosophy

Most clients come to Conaptus wanting to build something or protect something.

The sharpest counsel understands that these are the same conversation.

Aptus: Latin for appropriate, fitted, or suitable.
Connect: solutions tailored for you.

The two were brought together to create Conaptus in 2013. Conaptus believes the skills required to build a reputation over years and defend it under pressure in hours are not different skills. They're the same skill, applied to different moments.

What we are

Conaptus is a boutique strategic communications agency based in Toronto.

At Conaptus, you work directly with Jamie and the team brought together for your unique needs. From the first conversation through every decision the engagement turns on, the relationship is direct and timely, because that's how counsel of this kind actually works. The judgment that matters in moments of consequence, developed from oeprating in the rooms where decisions get made.

Portrait of Jamie Ellerton, Principal & Founder of Conaptus.
Principal & Founder

Jamie Ellerton

Strategic counsel · Crisis response · Decisive leadership

Jamie Ellerton leads Conaptus to offer strategic counsel to leaders for the moments that matter. He is experienced in cabinet offices, working with executive teams in crisis, campaign war rooms, and in the hot seat under the bright studio lights. That breadth of experience shapes how he reads situations and provides valuable insights to clients, constantly.
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Jamie brings more than two decades of experience at the intersection of public policy, media, communications, and campaigns that shift public opinion and manage change.

He's a Front Bench Panelist on CTV's Power Play and a regular commentator on CTV, CBC, iHeartRadio, Global News, CP24, and CityNews.

That presence matters for a reason: it means Jamie is a working practitioner in the public arena, not someone who advises others on it from a distance. He sees how stories actually move through in real time, week after week, and brings that current understanding directly into client work.

Before Conaptus, Jamie served as a senior elected officials nationally in Canada and in Toronto at Queen's Park.

What clients tend to value isn't the resume itself. It's his judgment when the stakes are high — the willingness to push back when the comfortable advice would be wrong, the discretion required, and the calm that comes from having seen this kind of moment before.

Selected receipts

What clients say after the work is done.

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“As a result of Jamie’s work, we secured more than 35 media interviews, including six national interviews, helping ensure the findings resonated with both the public and decision makers. We would not have achieved this level of engagement and impact without Jamie’s thoughtful, strategic counsel.

Jamie did a fantastic job providing communications and media support for the launch of This is the End of the Line, our national report on the transit funding crisis in Canada. Jamie developed clear and compelling key messages, strong visual graphics, and a highly effective press release, and led strategic media pitching that significantly increased the report’s reach both locally and nationally.”

David Cooper

Principal & Founder, Leading Mobility ·
leadingmobility.com
“

"Jamie has this amazing ability to see the big picture while being realistic as to what actually moves an organization forward. His steady, thoughtful partnership at Canada Learning Code strengthened our PR, GR and executive strategy efforts in ways that helped transform our big ambitions into tangible results. When you’re ready to move from intention to action, Jamie is the kind of strategic partner who makes that path forward clear and truly shapes impact."

Melissa Sariffodeen

Founder, Archbright ·
arcbrightpartners.com
How we work

Counsel, not deliverables.

An engagement begins with a conversation, not a scope of work. The first call is about understanding what's actually at stake.

• What room are you walking into?
• What is the story being told about you in your absence?
• Who is the audience you're trying to move?
• What are the constraints you're working within?

Tactics get decided after that, not before.

Each engagement gets shaped to the situation. Some clients need a sustained partnership where Conaptus is part of weekly cadence and quarterly planning. Others need surge capacity through a defined moment with quieter ongoing counsel afterwards. The model adapts to what the work calls for.

Throughout, the relationship stays direct. When something matters and time is short, you talk to Jamie, and the answer comes back informed by every conversation that came before it.

Right fit

Who we work best with.

Conaptus works best with leaders who want a trusted advisor in their corner — not a vendor managing deliverables. The clients who get the most value from us treat communications as a strategic capability and a lens that works across the organization and executive teams, not a procurement category. They want someone who will sit at the table and offer a view, not someone who will wait for direction.

We work best when the relationship is honest. The clients we serve well are willing to hear the assessment we'd give a friend in their position, even when it's harder to hear than the alternative. The willingness to engage candidly is what makes the counsel worth having.

If that resonates, the conversation is worth having. If you're looking for a vendor to execute a brief, there are firms better suited to that, and we'll happily make a referral.

Next step

If something here resonated, let's talk.

A focused half-hour conversation is enough to know whether there's a fit. From there, we'll know what to do next.

Start a conversation