The Liberal Party of Canada has appointed long-time Liberal organizer and staffer Jeremy Broadhurst as its campaign director for the next general election, confirming that Katie Telford will not return to the position that she held in the 2015 race.

Ms. Telford, who is the chief of staff in the Prime Minister’s Office, had been expected until recently to oversee the party’s attempt to win a second mandate on Oct. 21. She was seen in the party as a key architect of the modernization of the Liberal team and a leading advocate for data-driven campaigning.

However, the Liberal brain trust was shaken up by the departure of Gerald Butts as principal secretary to the Prime Minister in February over the SNC-Lavalin affair. Ms. Telford is now expected to remain in her position until the start of the writ period to oversee the implementation of the government’s agenda.

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It remains unclear whether Mr. Butts will play an active role in the next Liberal campaign, nor exactly what position Ms. Telford will occupy once the election is called.

The Liberal government has been suffering in public opinion polls after former attorney-general Jody Wilson-Raybould told the Commons justice committee in February that she faced “consistent and sustained” pressure, including “veiled threats,” from top officials to order a negotiated settlement for SNC.

On Wednesday, a star candidate from the 2015 election, former lieutenant-general Andrew Leslie, announced that he will not run again in the next election. Mr. Leslie, who is the MP for the Ottawa riding of Orléans and parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, said it was time for him to “take a new path.” Mr. Leslie is joining a number of Liberal MPs who are retiring from politics, such as Mark Eyking and Rodger Cuzner of Nova Scotia.

Mr. Broadhust is a former national director of the Liberal Party of Canada and was deputy chief of staff in the PMO from 2015-17. He became chief of staff to Chrystia Freeland at Foreign Affairs after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shuffled his cabinet to better deal with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.

In the past election, Mr. Broadhurst played a key role in amassing and analyzing data from voters through an active volunteer campaign on the ground and the use of modern technology.

“His proven record of success on both local and national campaigns, and in government, will help us continue to build a 2019 campaign that is innovative, empowering and competitive in every part of Canada,” Mr. Trudeau said in a statement.

Mr. Broadhurst will move into his new position over the next two weeks. He made it clear that he plans on upholding the focus in the Liberal campaign on direct contacts with voters.

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“Justin Trudeau and Liberals across Canada earned a mandate in 2015 on the strength of more than four million conversations with Canadians and the involvement of more than 80,000 dedicated volunteers, and we’ll need even more of that hope and hard work over the course of the next 173 days,” he said in a statement.