Janice Charette is a Canadian public servant serving as the clerk of the Privy Council and secretary to the Cabinet. She previously held the role from 2014 to 2016, before being appointed as the Canadian high commissioner to the United Kingdom in 2016. She has been recognized as one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women in 2013, 2014, and 2015.

Early and personal life

Born and raised in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Charette attended

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning World ...

, where she completed a

Bachelor of Commerce A Bachelor of Commerce (abbreviated BComm or BCom; also, ''baccalaureates commercii'') is an undergraduate degree in business, usually awarded in Canada, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Ireland, New Zealand, Ghana, South Africa, Myanmar, ...

degree. Charette is married to Reg Charette. Together they have two adult children, Jed and Cassie.

Career

Charette joined the public service in 1984, working in the Department of Finance. * 1988 – 1989— Policy Analyst, Office of Privatization and Regulatory Affair. * 1989 – 1991— Senior Departmental Assistant, Office of the Minister of Finance. * 1991 – 1992— Senior Policy Adviser, Federal-Provincial Relations Office. * 1992 – 1993— Senior Departmental Assistant, Office of the Minister of Finance, then Executive Assistant to the Chief of Staff, Office of the Prime Minister. * 1994 – 1996— Co-ordinator, Base Closures Task Force, then Director of Operations, Program Review Secretariat, and Executive Director, Strategic Projects Unit, Privy Council Office. She served as the deputy minister for

Citizenship and Immigration Canada Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC; french: Immigration, Réfugiés et Citoyenneté Canada)Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program since 2015; the legal title is Departm ...

from 2004 until 2006, and as the deputy minister of

Human Resources and Skills Development Canada Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC; french: Emploi et Développement social Canada; french: EDSC, label=none)''Employment and Social Development Canada'' is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Dep ...

from 2006 until 2010. Charette was appointed as the clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet on August 20, 2014, when Prime Minister

Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. Harper is the first and only prime minister to come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ...

announced that she would replace Wayne Wouters, who served from 2009 to 2014. She is the second woman to have held that post, which is the top

civil service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

position in the federal government. On January 22, 2016, Prime Minister

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...

announced that

Michael Wernick Michael Wernick (born September 1957) is a Canadian retired public servant who served as the 23rd clerk of the Privy Council for Canada from 2016 to 2019. Following his tenure as clerk, Wernick joined the University of Ottawa, where he was name ...

would replace Charette as clerk of the Privy Council. On July 19, 2016, she was appointed as the Canadian high commissioner to the United Kingdom. This was widely seen as a demotion, "after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau abruptly removed Ms. Charette as the country's top bureaucrat shortly after taking power." On March 1, 2021, Prime Minister Trudeau announced that Charette would serve as interim clerk of the Privy Council Office starting on March 9, 2021 while current clerk

Ian Shugart Ian D. Shugart (born May 31, 1957) is a Canadian politician and retired public servant who has been a senator from Ontario since September 27, 2022. Prior to his appointment to the Senate, Shugart held a number of senior roles within the Publ ...

underwent cancer treatment. She was subsequently permanently named to the position on May 25, 2022.

Volunteer work

Charette is a member of the board of directors of Royal Ottawa Healthcare Group and on the advisory board of the School of Policy Studies at Queen’s University. In 2008, she was national Chair for the United Way’s Government of Canada Workplace Charitable Campaign, raising over CA$136 million for communities and national health charities across Canada.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Charette, Janice Clerks of the Privy Council (Canada) Carleton University alumni Living people High Commissioners of Canada to the United Kingdom People from Ottawa Canadian women ambassadors Year of birth missing (living people)