The clerk of the Privy Council () 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 ().

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,Clerk of the Privy Council 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 and deputy minister to the premier is called the cabinet secretary, secretary general, or clerk of the executive council (in French, , , or , 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."Archives Search" at collectionscanada, 2018-05-20

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.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. Clerks generally have extensive previous experience in the Public Service of Canada before being appointed. +List of clerks of the Privy Council # Name Start date End date Prime Minister Notes 1 William Henry Lee July 1, 1867 June 30, 1872John A. Macdonald(1867–1873) 2 William Alfred Himsworth July 1, 1872 January 7, 1880 Alexander Mackenzie(1873–1878)John A. Macdonald(1878–1891) 3 Joseph Olivier Côté January 13, 1880 April 24, 1882 4 John Joseph McGee May 20, 1882 May 5, 1907 John Abbott(1891–1892)John Sparrow David Thompson(1892–1894)Mackenzie Bowell(1894–1896)Charles Tupper(1896–1896)Wilfrid Laurier(1896–1911) 5 Rodolphe Boudreau May 6, 1907 August 4, 1923 Robert Borden(1911–1920)Arthur Meighen(1920–1921)William Lyon Mackenzie King(1921–1926) 6 Ernest Joseph Lemaire August 14, 1923 January 1, 1940 Arthur Meighen(1926–1926)William Lyon Mackenzie King(1926–1930)R. B. Bennett(1930–1935)William Lyon Mackenzie King(1935–1948) 7 Arnold Danford Patrick Heeney March 25, 1940 March 14, 1949 Louis St. Laurent(1948–1957) 8 Norman Alexander Robertson March 15, 1949 May 31, 1952 9 John Witney Pickersgill June 1, 1952 June 1, 1953 10 Robert Broughton Bryce January 1, 1954 June 30, 1963John Diefenbaker(1957–1963)Lester B. Pearson(1963–1968) 11 Robert Gordon Robertson July 1, 1963 January 15, 1975 Pierre Trudeau(1968–1979) 12 Peter Michael Pitfield January 16, 1975 June 4, 1979 13 Marcel Massé June 5, 1979 March 10, 1980Joe Clark(1979–1980) (12) Peter Michael Pitfield March 11, 1980 December 9, 1982Pierre Trudeau(1980–1984) 14 Gordon Francis Joseph Osbaldeston December 10, 1982 August 11, 1985 John Turner(1984–1984)Brian Mulroney(1984–1993) 15 Paul M. Tellier August 12, 1985 June 30, 1992 16 Glen Scott Shortliffe July 1, 1992 March 27, 1994Kim Campbell(1993–1993)Jean Chrétien(1993–2003) 17 Jocelyne Bourgon March 28, 1994 January 17, 1999 18 Mel Cappe January 18, 1999 May 12, 2002 19 Alex Himelfarb May 13, 2002 March 5, 2006 Paul Martin(2003–2006)Stephen Harper(2006–2015) 20 Kevin G. Lynch March 6, 2006 June 30, 2009 21 Wayne G. Wouters July 1, 2009 October 3, 2014 22 Janice Charette October 6, 2014 January 21, 2016 Justin Trudeau(2015–2025) 23 Michael Wernick January 22, 2016 April 18, 2019 24 Ian Shugart April 19, 2019 May 27, 2022 (22) Janice Charette May 28, 2022 June 23, 2023 25 John Hannaford June 24, 2023 July 4, 2025 Mark Carney(2025–Present) 26 Michael Sabia July 7, 2025 incumbent

See also Clerk of the Privy Council (United Kingdom)

References

Notes

Further reading

External links Clerk of the Privy Council