In Canada, a Deputy Minister is the senior civil servant in a government department and assists the Minister of the department who is a member of the Canadian Cabinet.
The most senior deputy minister is the Clerk of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada who is also Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister of Canada. This should not be confused with the position of Deputy Prime Minister of Canada who is not a deputy minister at all but a politician and senior member of the Cabinet. The position of Deputy Minister is equivalent to the British position of Permanent Secretary made famous in the television satire, Yes, Minister.
There are several individuals who have deputy minister rank and are known by other titles such as president, secretary or commissioner.
Provincial governments also have deputy ministers who serve the same function as their federal counterparts.
Current deputy ministers are:
Clerk of the Privy Council (Deputy Minister to the PM) - Alexander Himelfarb
Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food - Leonard Edwards
President of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency - Monique Collette
Commissioner of Customs and Revenue - Alan Nymark
Deputy Minister of Canadian Heritage - Judith Anne Larocque
Deputy Minister of Citizenship and Immigration - Michel Dorais
Deputy Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec - Michelle D'auray
Deputy Minister of the Environment - Samy Watson
Deputy Minister of Finance - Kevin G. Lynch
Deputy Minister of Fisheries and Oceans - Larry E. Murray
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs - Vernon Peter Harder
Deputy Minister of Health - Ian C. Green
Deputy Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development - Wayne G. Wouters
Deputy Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development - J. Michael Horgan
Deputy Minister of Industry - Suzanne Hurtubise
Deputy Head of the Office of Infrastructure of Canada - André Juneau
Deputy Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs - Marie E. Fortier
Deputy Minister for International Trade - Robert Fonberg
Deputy Minister of Justice and Deputy Attorney General - Morris A. Rosenberg
Deputy Minister of National Defence - Ward P.D. Elcock
Deputy Minister of Natural Resources - George R.M. Anderson
Deputy Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness - Margaret Bloodworth
Deputy Minister of Public Works and Government Services - I. David Marshall
Deputy Minister of Social Development - Nicole Jauvin
Deputy Minister of Transport - Louis Ranger
Secretary of the Treasury Board and Comptroller General of Canada - James A.J. Judd
Deputy Minister of Veterans Affairs - Jack Stagg
Deputy Minister of Western Economic Diversification - Oryssia J. Lennie
The Deputy Prime Minister of Canada (French: Vice-premier ministre du Canada) is an honorary position in the Canadian government, conferred at the discretion of the Prime Minister on a member of the cabinet.
The official duties of the deputy prime minister are to answer on behalf of overall government policy during Question Period and chair the cabinet in the absence of the prime minister.
However in special circumstances in the 20th and 21st centuries British Prime Ministers have chosen to designate one of their cabinet colleagues to possess such a role as a form of honorific.
John Prescott, who was elected Deputy Leader of the Labour Party in opposition, was appointed Deputy Prime Minister by Tony Blair in 1997, in addition to being Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions.
In May 2006 the department was removed from the control of the Deputy Prime Minister and renamed as the Department for Communities and Local Government with Ruth Kelly as the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.
Feeds |
Contact