In
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, the Principal Secretary is a senior aide, often the most senior political aide, to a head of government. Formerly, the position of Principal Secretary was the most senior one in the Canadian
Prime Minister's Office (PMO). However, since 1987, it has been second to the
Chief of Staff position.
The
Leader of the Official Opposition and most
Canadian provincial Premiers
Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier.
A premier will normally be a head of governm ...
also have a principal secretary.
The role of the principal secretary may vary from administration to administration, depending on how the prime minister or provincial premier structures the workflow in his or her office; this has sometimes led to ambiguity in clearly defining the distinction between the roles of principal secretary and chief of staff to the general public.
[Shannon Proudfoot]
"In Trudeau’s PMO, what exactly is a principal secretary?"
''Maclean's
''Maclean's'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian persp ...
'', February 20, 2019.
List of Principal Secretaries to the Prime Minister
*
Gerald Butts (2015–2019)
*
Ray Novak (2008–2013)
*
Francis Fox
Francis Fox (born December 2, 1939) is a former member of the Senate of Canada, Canadian Cabinet minister, and Principal Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office, and thus was a senior aide to Prime Minister Paul Martin. He also worked as ...
(2004)
* Jean Riou (1993)
* Michel Roy, Senior Advisor (1992–1993)
*
Hugh Segal, Senior Advisor (1991–1992)
* Tom Trbovich, Senior Policy Advisor (1990–1991)
* Bruce Phillips, Senior Advisor (1989–1990)
* Peter G. White (1988–1989)
* Bernard A. Roy (1984–1988)
* John Swift (1984)
*
Tom Axworthy (1981–1984)
*
James A. Coutts (1975–1979, 1980–1981)
* William Neville, Chief of Staff (1979–1980)
* Jack Austin (1974-1975)
*
Martin O'Connell (1973–1974)
*
Marc Lalonde (1968–1972)
*
Thomas Worrall Kent, Special Advisor (1967–1968)
* Gordon Robertson, Special Advisor (1967–1968)
* John Hodgson (1966–1967)
*
Thomas Worrall Kent, Policy Secretary to the Prime Minister (1964–1965)
** Coordinator of Programming (1963–1964)
* Bert Richardson, Special Assistant (1962–1963)
* John Fisher, Special Assistant (1961–1962)
* Gowen Guest, Executive Assistant (1958–1961)
* Derek Bedson, Head PM's office (1957–1958)
* Dale Thomson (1952–1953)
* Pierre Asselin, Private secretary (1952–1958)
*
Jack W. Pickersgill, Special Assistant to Prime Minister (1945–1952)
* Gideon Matte, Private secretary (1945–1948)
* Walter J. Turnbull, Principal secretary (1940–1945)
* Arnold Heeney (1938–1940)
* E.A. Pickering, Assistant private secretary (1935–1938)
* Howard R.L. Henry, Private secretary (1935)
*
Andrew Dyas MacLean, Secretary (1931–1935)
* Arthur Merriam, Private secretary (1930–1935)
* Rod Finlayson, Principal senior secretary (1930–1935)
* Harry Baldwin, Principal private secretary (1929–1930)
* Norman Rogers, Assistant secretary (1929–1930)
* Howard Measures, Personal secretary (1925–1930)
* Ralph Campney, title unknown (1924–1926)
* Leslie Clare Moyer, Private secretary (1922–1927)
* Fred A. McGregor, Secretary (1921–1922)
* Laurent Beaudry, Private secretary (1921–1922)
* Loring Christie, Principal Advisor (External Affairs) (1920–1921)
* Arthur Merriam, Principal secretary (1920–1921)
* Loring Christie, Principal Advisor (External Affairs) (1914–1920)
* Austin Ernest Blount, Private secretary (1911–1917)
*
Ernest Joseph Lemaire, Private secretary (1904–1912)
* Austin Ernest Blount (1896)
* Douglas Stewart, Secretary (1892–1894)
*
Joseph Pope, Secretary (1892)
**Private secretary (1882–1891)
**Under private secretary (1878–1882)
* Fred White, Private secretary (1878–1882)
* William Buckingham, Secretary (1873–1878)
*
Hewitt Bernard, Private secretary (1867–1873)
See also
*
Canadian Secretary to the Queen
The Canadian Secretary to the King (french: Secrétaire canadien du Roi) is the senior operational member of the royal household for the King of Canada, Charles III. The secretary is the principal channel of communication between the monarch and h ...
*
Secretary to the Governor General of Canada
References
{{reflist
External links
Principal Secretaries to the Prime Minister– Parliament of Canada website
Government of Canada
Political occupations