Clerk of the Privy Council (Canada)

Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet
Incumbent
Michael Wernick
since January 22, 2016
Privy Council Office
Reports to Prime Minister
Seat Langevin Block
Appointer Governor General in Council
Inaugural holder William Henry Lee
Formation July 1, 1867
Website clerk.gc.ca
Canada
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The Clerk of the Privy Council (French: Greffier du Conseil privé) is the senior civil servant in the Canadian government. The Title and Office is in fact "Clerk of the Privy Council and the Secretary to the Cabinet". The Clerk is appointed by the Queen's representative in Canada, the Governor General, on the advice of the Prime Minister.

The Clerk of the Privy Council operates as the deputy minister to the Prime Minister of Canada and provides impartial advice to the Prime Minister and is in charge of the Privy Council Office. As Secretary to the Cabinet, the Clerk of the Privy Council 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, the Clerk is responsible for other deputy ministers and the provision of non-partisan, expert advice to the government as a whole.

Clerks of the Privy Council

  1. William Henry Lee (1867–1872)
  2. William Alfred Himsworth (1872–1880)
  3. Joseph Olivier Côté (1880–1882)
  4. John Joseph McGee (1882–1907)
  5. Rodolphe Boudreau (1907–1923)
  6. Ernest Joseph Lemaire (1923–1940)
  7. Arnold Danford Patrick Heeney (1940–1949)
  8. Norman Alexander Robertson (1949–1952)
  9. John Whitney Pickersgill (1952–1953)
  10. Robert Bryce (1954–1963)
  11. Robert Gordon Robertson (1963–1975)
  12. Peter Michael Pitfield (1975–1979, 1980–1982)
  13. Marcel Massé (1979–1980)
  14. Gordon Osbaldeston (1982–1985)
  15. Paul M. Tellier (1985–1992)
  16. Glen Shortliffe (1992–1994)
  17. Jocelyne Bourgon (1994–1999)
  18. Mel Cappe (1999–2002)
  19. Alexander Himelfarb (2002–2006)
  20. Kevin G. Lynch (2006–2009)
  21. Wayne Wouters (2009–2014)
  22. Janice Charette (2014–2016)
  23. Michael Wernick (2016–present)

See also


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