Clerk of the Privy Council (Canada)

Senior civil servant in the Canadian government

Clerk of the Privy Council
Secretary to the Cabinet

Greffier du Conseil privé
secrétaire du Cabinet

Incumbent
Michael Sabia

since July 7, 2025

Government of Canada
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; 158 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).

Michael Sabia has been the 26th clerk of the Privy Council since July 7, 2025. The clerk is a Governor-in-Council appointment made on the advice of the prime minister. 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.

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

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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.[2]

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.[3] Clerks generally have extensive previous experience in the Public Service of Canada before being appointed.

List of clerks of the Privy Council[4] No.  | Clerk  | Term  | Notes

|
|
|

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  |
13  | Marcel Massé | 1979–1980  |
(12)  | Peter Michael Pitfield  | 1980–1982  | Previously held office from 1975 to 1979.
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 | 2016–2019  |
24  | Ian Shugart | 2019–2021  |
(22)  | Janice Charette | 2021–2022 – Interim Clerk from March 9, 2021, to May 28, 2022

2022–Jun 23, 2023

| Previously held office from 2014 to 2016.
25  | John Hannaford | June 24, 2023–July 7, 2025  |
27  | Michael Sabia | July 7, 2025–Present |

## See also

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* Clerk of the Privy Council (United Kingdom)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Clerk of the Privy Council
2. ^ "Archives Search" at collectionscanada, 2018-05-20
3. ^ Alex Boutiliero (March 1, 2019). Caught in the SNC-Lavalin scandal, Canada’s top civil servant should help us understand his job, expert says. Toronto Star.
4. ^ "Clerk and Deputy Clerk". Privy Council Office. 2017-05-29. Retrieved 2021-07-05.

## Notes

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## External links

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* Clerk of the Privy Council Archived 2017-05-01 at the Wayback Machine

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