Leadership of the Prime Minister's office

Leadership of the Prime Minister's Office 1867 to Date

The organizational structure of the Prime Minister’s office (PMO) has traditionally been hierarchical in its design. At the upper echelons of this hierarchy resides the small circle of individuals entrusted with running the PMO. Depending on the personal approach of the Prime Minister, the duties of managing, administrating and co-ordinating the activities of the PMO might belong to the Principal Secretary, the Chief of Staff, or another key advisor.

The head of the PMO is granted virtually uninhibited access to the Prime Minister and Cabinet Ministers. He or she oversees the activities of the Prime Minister’s staff, and can also serve as an important political adviser. In addition, the head of the PMO has the duty of liaising with the Privy Council Office (PCO), and attends the weekly meetings of the PCO’s senior staff as the representative of the PMO.

The functions served by the PMO, itself, have greatly evolved over time. In the ministries which followed Confederation, the Prime Minister’s secretaries mainly fulfilled basic service roles, such as responding to routine correspondence. In more recent times, with the institutionalization of the PMO, the raison d’être of the PMO and its staff has expanded to include a wider variety of tasks, including the provision of policy advice, information gathering, communications, planning, and strategizing.

SOURCES

Biographies of Prime Ministers, popular and academic books on Canadian politics.
Memo from Jack Pickersgill.
Interviews with:

E.A. Pickering (King)
Jack Granatstein (King)
Gordon Roberston (Pearson Marc Lalonde)
Professor Waite (Thompson)
*Huguette Fournier (Pearson, Lalonde)
Tom Kent (Pearson)

*(Marc Lalonde's Secretary, Montréal - Office of Stikeman & Elliot.)

Nota bene: Secondary sources were used to complete this list. It should not be considered an official list.

Harper, Stephen (2006.02.06 - )

Name	Title	Term (yyyy.mm.dd)
Novak, Raymond	Chief of Staff	(2013.05.20 - )
Wright, Nigel S.	Chief of Staff	(2011 - 2013.05.19)
Giorno, Guy	Chief of Staff	(2008.07.01 - 2010.12.31)
Novak, Raymond	Principal Secretary	(2008.07.01 - 2013.05.19)
Brodie, Ian	Chief of Staff	(2006 - 2008.06.30)

Martin, Paul Edgar Philippe (2003.12.12 - 2006.02.05)

Name	Title	Term (yyyy.mm.dd)
Fox, Francis	Principal Secretary	(2004 - 2006)

Chrétien, Joseph Jacques Jean (1993.11.04 - 2003.12.11)

Name	Title	Term (yyyy.mm.dd)
Goldenberg, Edward	Chief of Staff and Senior Policy Advisor	(2003.06.27 - 2003.12.11)
Downe, Percy E.	Chief of Staff	(2001.05.02 - 2003.06.26)
Pelletier, Jean	Chief of Staff	(1993.11.04 - 2001.05.01)

Campbell, A. Kim (1993.06.25 - 1993.11.03)

Name	Title	Term (yyyy.mm.dd)
Riou, Jean	Principal Secretary	(1993 - 1993)

Mulroney, Martin Brian (1984.09.17 - 1993.06.24)

Name	Title	Term (yyyy.mm.dd)
Roy, Michel	Senior Advisor	(1992 - 1993)
Segal, Hugh	Senior Advisor	(1991 - 1992)
Trbovich, Tom	Senior Policy Advisor	(1990 - 1991)
White, Peter G.	Principal Secretary	(1988 - 1989)
Roy, Bernard A.	Principal Secretary	(1984 - 1988)

Turner, John Napier (1984.06.30 - 1984.09.16)

Name	Title	Term (yyyy.mm.dd)
Swift, John	Principal Secretary	(1984 - 1984)

Trudeau, Pierre Elliott (1980.03.03 - 1984.06.29)

Name	Title	Term (yyyy.mm.dd)
Axworthy, Tom	Principal Secretary	(1981.07.23 - 1984)
Coutts, James A.	Principal Secretary	(1980 - 1981.07)

Clark, Charles Joseph (1979.06.04 - 1980.03.02)

Name	Title	Term (yyyy.mm.dd)
Neville, William	Chief of Staff	(1979.06.13 - 1980)

Trudeau, Pierre Elliott (1968.04.20 - 1979.06.03)

Name	Title	Term (yyyy.mm.dd)
Coutts, James A.	Principal Secretary	(1975.08.19 - 1979)
O'Connell, Martin	Principal Secretary	(1973.02.16 - 1974)
Lalonde, Marc	Principal Secretary	(1968.07.31 - 1972)

Pearson, Lester Bowles (1963.04.22 - 1968.04.19)

Name	Title	Term (yyyy.mm.dd)
Lalonde, Marc Tom Kent and Gordon Robertson think that Mr. Lalonde was in the position of principal secretary with Mr. Pearson. However, this has not been confirmed by Mr. Lalonde.	Special Adviser	(1967.04 - 1968.07)
Hodgson, John	Principal Secretary	(1966 - 1967.04)
Kent, Tom	Policy Secretary to the Prime Minister	(1964 - 1965)
Kent, Tom	Coordinator of Programming	(1963 - 1964)

Diefenbaker, John George (1957.06.21 - 1963.04.21)

Name	Title	Term (yyyy.mm.dd)
Richardson, Bert	Special Assistant	(1962 - 1963)
Fisher, John	Special Assistant	(1961 - 1962)
Guest, Gowen	Executive Assistant	(1958 - 1961)
Bedson, Derek	Head PM's office	(1957 - 1958)

St-Laurent, Louis Stephen (1948.11.15 - 1957.06.20)

Name	Title	Term (yyyy.mm.dd)
Thomson, Dale	Principal Secretary	(1952 - 1953)
Asselin, Pierre	Private Secretary	(1952 - 1958.01.16)

King, William Lyon Mackenzie (1935.10.23 - 1948.11.14)

Name	Title	Term (yyyy.mm.dd)
Matte, Gideon	Private Secretary	(1945 - 1948)
Pickersgill, Jack W.	Special Assistant to Prime Minister	(1945 - 1952)
Pickersgill, Jack W.	Assistant Principal Secretary	(1940 - 1945)
Turnbull, Walter J.	Principal Secretary	(1940 - 1945)
Heeney, Arnold	Principal Secretary	(1938.10 - 1940.03.22)
Pickering, E.A.	Assistant Private Secretary	(1935.10 - 1938.08)
Henry, Howard R.L.	Private Secretary	(1935 - 1935.10)

Bennett, Richard Bedford (1930.08.07 - 1935.10.22)

Name	Title	Term (yyyy.mm.dd)
Maclean, Andrew D.	Secretary	(1931 - 1935)
Finlayson, Rod	Principal Senior Secretary	(1930 - 1935)
Merriam, Arthur	Private Secretary	(1930 - 1935)

King, William Lyon Mackenzie (1926.09.25 - 1930.08.06)

Name	Title	Term (yyyy.mm.dd)
Baldwin, Harry	Principal Private Secretary	(1929.06 - 1930.08)
Rogers, Norman	Assistant Secretary	(1929 - 1930)
Measures, Howard	Personal Secretary	(1925 - 1930)

King, William Lyon Mackenzie (1921.12.29 - 1926.06.28)

Name	Title	Term (yyyy.mm.dd)
Campney, Ralph	title unknown	(1924 - 1926)
Moyer, Leslie Clare	Private Secretary	(1922 - 1927)
McGregor, Fred A.	Secretary	(1921 - 1922)
Beaudry, Laurent	Private Secretary	(1921 - 1922)

Meighen, Arthur (1920.07.10 - 1921.12.28)

Name	Title	Term (yyyy.mm.dd)
Christie, Loring	Principal Advisor (External Affairs)	(1920 - 1921)
Merriam, Arthur	Principal Secretary	(1920 - 1921)

Borden, Robert Laird (1911.10.10 - 1917.10.11)

Name	Title	Term (yyyy.mm.dd)
Christie, Loring	Principal Advisor (External Affairs)	(1914 - 1920)
Blount, Austin Ernest	Private Secretary	(1911 - 1917)

Laurier, Wilfrid (1896.07.11 - 1911.10.06)

Name	Title	Term (yyyy.mm.dd)
Lemaire, E.J.	Private Secretary	(1904 - 1912)

Tupper, Charles (1896.05.01 - 1896.07.08)

Name	Title	Term (yyyy.mm.dd)
Blount, Austin Ernest	title unknown	(1896.05 - 1896.07)

Thompson, John Sparrow David (1892.12.05 - 1894.12.12)

Name	Title	Term (yyyy.mm.dd)
Stewart, Douglas	Secretary	(1892 - 1894)

Abbott, John Joseph Caldwell (1891.06.16 - 1892.11.24)

Name	Title	Term (yyyy.mm.dd)
Pope, Joseph few months in 1892	Secretary	(1892 - 1892)

Macdonald, John Alexander (1878.10.17 - 1891.06.06)

Name	Title	Term (yyyy.mm.dd)
Pope, Joseph	Private Secretary	(1882 - 1891)
Pope, Joseph	Under Private Secretary	(1878 - )
White, Fred	Private Secretary	(1878 - 1882)

Mackenzie, Alexander (1873.11.07 - 1878.10.08)

Name	Title	Term (yyyy.mm.dd)
Buckingham, William	Secretary	(1873 - 1878)

Macdonald, John Alexander (1867.07.01 - 1873.11.05)

Name	Title	Term (yyyy.mm.dd)
Bernard, Hewitt	Private Secretary	(1867 - )

PARLINFO

SOURCES