Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister (Canada)

Last updated
Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister
Incumbent
Marco Mendicino
since March 14, 2025
Office of the Prime Minister
Seat Langevin Block
Appointer Prime Minister of Canada
Formation1987
First holder Derek 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]

Contents

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.NameTerm of officePolitical partyMinistryReference
1 Derek Burney 19871989 Progressive Conservative 24 (Mulroney) [2]
2 Stanley Hartt 19891990Progressive Conservative [3]
3 Norman Spector 19901992Progressive Conservative [4]
4 Hugh Segal 19921993Progressive Conservative [5]
5 David McLaughlin 19931993Progressive Conservative [6]
6 Jodi White 19931993Progressive Conservative 25 (Campbell) [7]
7 Jean Pelletier 19932001 Liberal 26 (Chrétien) [8]
8 Percy Downe 20012003Liberal [9]
9 Edward Goldenberg 20032003Liberal [10]
10 Tim Murphy 20032006Liberal 27 (Martin) [11]
11 Ian Brodie 20062008 Conservative 28 (Harper) [12]
12 Guy Giorno 20082010Conservative [13]
13 Nigel Wright 20112013Conservative [14]
14 Ray Novak 20132015Conservative [15]
15 Katie Telford 20152025Liberal 29 (J. Trudeau) [16]
16 Marco Mendicino 2025IncumbentLiberal 30 (M. Carney) [17]

Further reading

References

  1. "In Defense of Political Staff". Canadian Parliamentary Review (Vol. 35, No. 3), 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "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.
  17. Boudjikanian, Raffy (March 12, 2025). "Carney chief of staff's time in cabinet, stance on Gaza under scrutiny". CBC News . Retrieved March 16, 2025.