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21-755: The clerk of the Privy Council , who leads the department, is the head of the civil service of Canada , and acts as the deputy minister to the prime minister , who is the minister responsible for the department. The Privy Council Office is located in the Office of the Prime Minister and Privy Council building (previously known as Langevin Block) on Parliament Hill . Although the Privy Council Office has grown in size and complexity over

42-604: A minister of the Crown , who is typically an elected member of Parliament and responsible for the department. The Canadian position is equivalent to the position of permanent secretary in the United Kingdom and the Australian position of departmental secretary . This position should not be confused with the deputy prime minister of Canada , who is not a civil servant at all, but a politician and senior member of

63-430: A department of intergovernmental affairs, secretariats for communications, foreign and defence policy, security and intelligence, social affairs, economic affairs, legislation and house planning and machinery of government . Traditionally, the Privy Council Office has served as a "finishing school" for civil servants destined for executive positions within government. Officials who spend several years gaining experience at

84-496: A department's day-to-day operations, budget, and program development. As members of the public service, deputy ministers are nonpartisan . The deputy minister is the functional head of the department in question, while the minister is the department's political master. Unlike most other public service positions, deputy ministers are Governor-in-Council appointments made on the advice of the prime minister of Canada . Accordingly, deputy ministers can sometimes lose their positions as

105-638: A result of a change of the party in power, particularly if they are seen as too closely identified with the policies of the previous government. Under the Interpretation Act and departmental legislation, deputy heads are typically permitted to exercise powers of their ministers for all purposes aside from creation of regulations. Deputy heads also possess powers under their own right under the Financial Administration Act , Public Service Employment Act , powers delegated by

126-426: Is a personal and partisan office. It is understood that the prime minister should not receive advice from only one institutionalized source. To that end, the Privy Council Office serves as the policy-oriented but politically neutral advisory unit to the prime minister, while the Prime Minister's Office is politically oriented but policy-sensitive. As of 2017, the Privy Council Office's Impact and Innovation Unit manages

147-525: Is that it could put senior nonpartisan officials in the position of taking partisan positions. Clerks generally have extensive previous experience in the Public Service of Canada before being appointed. 2022–Jun 23, 2023 Deputy Minister (Canada) In Canada , a deputy minister ( DM ; French : sous-ministre ) is the senior civil servant in a government organization, who acts as deputy head. Deputy ministers take political direction from

168-555: Is the clerk of the Privy Council , who is deputy minister to the Prime Minister and head of the Public Service of Canada . In the provinces and territories, the position fulfils a similar function as the most senior public servant and is called the cabinet secretary or clerk of the executive council. This person, along with their staff, typically develops agendas for regular Cabinet meetings, reconciles differences between departments, guides major policy initiatives, and coordinates

189-559: Is the senior civil servant in the Government of Canada and serves as the secretary to the Cabinet ( French : secrétaire du Cabinet ). The role of the clerk is nonpartisan ; clerks may serve multiple prime ministers and do not belong to any political party. As the secretary to the Cabinet, the role provides impartial advice to the ministry and oversees the advice and policy support given to Cabinet and its committees. As head of

210-619: The Cabinet . Much of the current management structure of the Government of Canada – including the role of deputy heads – originates from the Royal Commission on Government Organization , also known as the Glassco Commission . The title is not only used for the federal (national) government, but also for equivalent positions in the provincial and territorial governments . A deputy minister has responsibility for

231-559: The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation ; former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau ; and former Minister of Foreign Affairs Pierre Pettigrew . The head of the civil service has the title of clerk of the Privy Council , and also serves as the secretary to the Cabinet and deputy minister to the prime minister. The Privy Council Office's role is different from that of the Prime Minister's Office , which

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252-628: The Treasury Board of Canada , and Public Service Commission of Canada . Typically, these relate to management of resources delegated to their organizations, personnel management, including appointment, employer-employee relations, and the organization of the department. Ministers may not provide specific direction on the areas a deputy minister is directly assigned. The executive government ( Crown-in-Council ) includes many organizations not designated as departments including special operating agencies – such as Statistics Canada , Parks Canada –

273-456: The military , departments which function more as an "administrative umbrella", such as Public Safety Canada , which comprises six agencies, as well as Crown corporations . As such, various organizations' senior leadership (commissioner, chief executive, etc.) while not explicitly deputy ministers, exercise similar functions. The most senior deputy minister in the Canadian federal government

294-595: The Impact Canada behavioural sciences platform in partnership with other departments of the Government of Canada. Clerk of the Privy Council (Canada) The clerk of the Privy Council ( French : greffier du Conseil privé ) is the professional head of the Public Service of Canada . As the deputy minister for the Privy Council Office (the prime minister 's department), the clerk

315-541: The Privy Council Office, and working on policy matters from the perspective of the prime minister, return to their home departments with a greater appreciation of government operations at the corporate level. Aside from senior positions within the civil service, Privy Council Office alumni have gone on to pursue successful careers in business and politics, including Paul Tellier , former chief executive officer of Bombardier ; Michael Sabia , chief executive officer of Bell Canada ; Robert Rabinovitch , chief executive officer of

336-436: The Privy Council increased from 142 to 352 between 1971 and 1975. In 1989, reforms initiated by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney gave the clerk position its present day responsibilities. Expert Donald Savoie describes these as a combination of three roles: "the secretary of cabinet, the head of the non-partisan public service, and the deputy minister — or top bureaucrat — to the prime minister." One critique of this arrangement

357-581: The appointments of departmental heads. The position reports directly to the relevant prime minister and is typically among the most seasoned, influential, and low profile of public servants. The Australian equivalent is the secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet , and the British equivalent is the Cabinet Secretary . The equivalent in the provincial governments of Canada is

378-505: The named "Deputy Minister of Executive Council and Secretary to Cabinet" (Alberta), "Deputy Minister to the Premier and Cabinet Secretary" (Saskatchewan) or similar. Associate deputy ministers are deputy ministers in waiting, often assigned to a specific project or initiative pending appointment to lead a department. Assistant deputy ministers are operational positions, usually carrying responsibility for particular functions or budgets within

399-555: The position. In the provinces and territories, the equivalent position of senior public servant is called the cabinet secretary or clerk of the executive council (in French, secrétaire du conseil exécutif or greffier du conseil exécutif , respectively). The Privy Council for Canada was created and authorized by the Constitution Act, 1867 , and there has been a clerk of the Privy Council since then. The staff of

420-399: The public service, the clerk is responsible for other deputy ministers and the provision of non-partisan, expert advice to the government as a whole. The clerk is a Governor-in-Council appointment made on the advice of the prime minister. On May 30, 2023, Prime Minister Trudeau announced that Janice Charette would retire on June 24, 2023, and that he would appoint John Hannaford to fill

441-407: The years, its main pillars remain the operations and plans secretariats. The former is primarily concerned with coordinating the day-to-day issues of government while the latter takes a medium-term view to the evolution of the Canadian federation. Each incoming prime minister will re-organize the Privy Council Office to suit the policy agenda of their government. Today, the Privy Council Office includes

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