Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister
Incumbent
Katie Telford
since November 4, 2015
Office of the Prime Minister
SeatLangevin Block
AppointerPrime Minister of Canada
Formation1987
First holderDerek Burney

The Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister is the top official in Canada's Prime Minister's Office (PMO).[1] The position was created in 1987 to head the PMO.[2]

Prior to the creation of the chief of staff position, the office was headed by the prime minister's principal secretary, a position that is now secondary to the chief of staff.[2] Individuals who held the position of principal secretary prior to 1987 were essentially de facto chiefs of staff, and may sometimes be informally referred to as chiefs of staff in some sources, but did not hold the formal title chief of staff.

Bernard Roy, Brian Mulroney's principal secretary from 1984 to 1988, was the last principal secretary to act as head of the PMO before the creation of the chief of staff position.[2]

List of Chiefs of Staff

No. Name Term of office Political party Ministry Reference
1 Derek Burney 1987 1989 Progressive Conservative 24 (Mulroney) [2]
2 Stanley Hartt 1989 1990 Progressive Conservative [3]
3 Norman Spector 1990 1992 Progressive Conservative [4]
4 Hugh Segal 1992 1993 Progressive Conservative [5]
5 David McLaughlin 1993 1993 Progressive Conservative [6]
6 Jodi White 1993 1993 Progressive Conservative 25 (Campbell) [7]
7 Jean Pelletier 1993 2001 Liberal 26 (Chrétien) [8]
8 Percy Downe 2001 2003 Liberal [9]
9 Edward Goldenberg 2003 2003 Liberal [10]
10 Tim Murphy 2003 2006 Liberal 27 (Martin) [11]
11 Ian Brodie 2006 2008 Conservative 28 (Harper) [12]
12 Guy Giorno 2008 2010 Conservative [13]
13 Nigel Wright 2011 2013 Conservative [14]
14 Ray Novak 2013 2015 Conservative [15]
15 Katie Telford 2015 Incumbent Liberal 29 (J. Trudeau) [16]

Further reading

References

  1. ^ "In Defense of Political Staff". Canadian Parliamentary Review (Vol. 35, No. 3), 2012.
  2. ^ a b c d "Another change by PM". Windsor Star, March 13, 1987.
  3. ^ "Montrealer Hartt named PM's chief of staff". Montreal Gazette, December 15, 1988.
  4. ^ "PM picks top bureaucrat to be new chief of staff". Financial Post, August 16, 1990.
  5. ^ "PM appoints political pro chief of staff; Meech architect becomes envoy". Edmonton Journal, January 8, 1992.
  6. ^ "Tories' 'happy warrior' quits Mulroney's office". Toronto Star, April 29, 1993.
  7. ^ "Campbell's new cabinet to be leaner and meaner". Montreal Gazette, June 25, 1993.
  8. ^ "Ex-mayor who was defeated by Bloc appointed Chretien's chief of staff". Montreal Gazette, October 30, 1993.
  9. ^ "Percy Downe named chief of staff to Prime Minister's Office". The Guardian, May 5, 2001.
  10. ^ "PM aide brings hammer down: Grit party boss warned to get in line". Calgary Herald, June 27, 2003.
  11. ^ "Familiar faces round out Martin's PMO". The Globe and Mail, December 12, 2003.
  12. ^ "Ad hoc process to grill nominee warrants caution". Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, February 21, 2006.
  13. ^ "Giorno takes the helm in PMO". The Globe and Mail, July 2, 2008.
  14. ^ "PM's staff chief 'right man'". Edmonton Journal, January 6, 2011.
  15. ^ "Ray Novak's long ties to Harper". The Globe and Mail, May 20, 2013.
  16. ^ "Leadership of the Prime Minister's Office". Official website of the Parliament of Canada. Archived from the original on December 6, 2020. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
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