Clerk of the Privy Council (Canada)

Clerk of the Privy Council Secretary to the Cabinet
Greffier du Conseil privé secrétaire du Cabinet
Incumbent Janice Charette (Acting) since March 9, 2021
Privy Council Office
Type	Deputy minister
Member of	Public Service of Canada
Reports to	Prime Minister of Canada
Appointer	Governor in Council On the advice of the prime minister
Inaugural holder	William Henry Lee
Formation	July 1, 1867; 154 years ago (1867-07-01)
Website	Privy Council webpage

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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 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 the public service,^[1] 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. Ian Shugart was appointed the 24th clerk of the Privy Council and secretary to the Cabinet on April 19, 2019.^[1] On March 1, 2021, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Janice Charette would serve as interim clerk of the Privy Council as of March 9, 2021 as Shugart undergoes cancer treatment.^[2]

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).

History[]

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 the Privy Council increased from 142 to 352 between 1971 and 1975.^[3]

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 is that it could put senior nonpartisan officials in the position of taking partisan positions.^[4] Clerks generally have extensive previous experience in the Public Service of Canada before being appointed.

See also[]

• Clerk of the Privy Council (United Kingdom)

References[]

External links[]

• Clerk of the Privy Council