Deputy minister (Canada)

In Canada, a deputy minister (French: sous-ministre) is the senior civil servant in a government department. He or she takes political direction from an appointed minister of the Crown.

A deputy minister has responsibility for a department's day-to-day operations, budget, and program development. The deputy minister is the functional head of the department in question, while the minister is the department's political master. Unlike most other public service positions, deputy ministers serve at the pleasure of the Crown Governor General-in-Council and are appointed by the first minister (prime minister). Accordingly, deputy ministers can sometimes lose their positions as a result of a change of the party in power, particularly if they are seen as too closely identified with the policies of the previous government.[1]

This position 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 of Canada.[2] The Canadian position of deputy minister is equivalent to the British position of permanent secretary and the Australian position of departmental secretary.

Associate deputy ministers are deputy ministers in waiting, often assigned to a specific project or initiative pending appointment to lead a department. Assistant deputy ministers are operational positions, usually carrying responsibility for particular functions or budgets within a department.

The most senior deputy minister in the Canadian federal government is the Clerk of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada, who is also deputy minister to the Prime Minister of Canada. In the provinces and territories, the position fulfills a similar function as the most senior public servant and is called the cabinet secretary or clerk of the executive council. The Australian equivalent is the secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, and the British equivalent is the Cabinet secretary. This person, along with their staff, typically develops agendas for regular Cabinet meetings, reconciles differences between departments, guides major policy initiatives, and coordinates the appointments of departmental heads. The position reports directly to the relevant prime minister and is typically among the most seasoned, influential, and low profile of public servants.

There are several individuals who have the rank of a deputy minister but are known by other titles, such as president of an agency or crown corporation, secretary, commissioner, or superintendent.

Provincial governments also have deputy ministers, who serve the same function as their federal counterparts.

In French texts and within the province of Quebec, the equivalent title is "sous-ministre".

References
  1. Christopher A. Cooper, The Rise of Court Government? Testing the Centralisation of Power Thesis with Longitudinal Data from Canada, Parliamentary Affairs, Volume 70, Issue 3, July 2017, Pages 589–610. https://doi.org/10.1093/pa/gsx003
  2. Jackson, Robert J. and Doreen Jackson. Politics in Canada: Culture, Institutions, Behavior and Public Policy. 6th ed. (Toronto: Prentice Hall, 2006). p355.
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