Clerk and Deputy Clerks

Paul Tellier served as Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet from August 12, 1985, to June 30, 1992.

Mr. Tellier graduated from the universities of Ottawa and Oxford. In 1963, he was admitted to the Quebec Bar and in 1993 he was appointed Companion of the Order of Canada. He held several senior government positions, including Deputy Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development in 1979 and Deputy Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources in 1982. Between 1992 and 2002 he was President and Chief Executive Officer and a director of the Canadian National Railway Company. In the private sector, Mr. Tellier served as President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Bombardier Inc. from 2003 to 2004. He has been a director of Alcan Aluminum Ltd., BCE Inc./Bell Canada, and McCain Foods Ltd., as well as Co-Chairman of the Canada-Japan Business Council and Chairman of the Conference Board of Canada. In 2006, Mr. Tellier was appointed Director of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research.

On December 10, 1982, Gordon Osbaldeston was named Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet, a position he held until August 11, 1985.

Mr. Osbaldeston received a bachelor's degree in commerce from the University of Toronto and a master's degree in business administration from the University of Western Ontario. He joined the Public Service of Canada in 1953 as a foreign service officer in the Department of Trade and Commerce. In 1968, he was appointed Assistant Deputy Minister of the Department of Consumer and Corporate Affairs and in 1970 he was appointed Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Board. From 1972 to 1982 he served in a number of senior positions, including Deputy Minister of the Department of Consumer and Corporate Affairs, Secretary of the Treasury Board, Deputy Minister of the Department of Industry, Trade and Commerce, and Under-Secretary of State for External Affairs. In 1981, Mr. Osbaldeston was appointed Officer of the Order of Canada and in 1997 he was promoted to Companion of the Order of Canada. He has written Keeping Deputy Ministers Accountable (1988) and Organizing to Govern (1992). In 2003, he was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Canada Life Assurance Company and the Canada Life Financial Corporation.

Michael Pitfield served twice as Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet; the first time from January 16, 1975, to June 4, 1979, and again from March 11, 1980, to December 9, 1982.

Mr. Pitfield graduated from St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York, and the University of Ottawa. He obtained his law degree from McGill University and in 1962 he was admitted to the Quebec Bar. Mr. Pitfield joined the Public Service of Canada in 1959, serving as an administrative assistant to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada. Over the years he held various positions, including Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet, Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet (Plans), Deputy Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs and Deputy Registrar General of Canada. On December 22, 1982, Mr. Pitfield was appointed to the Senate. He served as Chairman of the Special Committee of the Senate on the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and as a member of the Standing Committee on Rules, Procedures and the Rights of Parliament. From 1984 to 2003, Mr. Pitfield served as Vice-Chairman and a director of Power Corporation of Canada and in 2003 was named Director Emeritus of the company. In 2003, the University of Ottawa Heart Institute created the Michael Pitfield Chair in Cardiac Surgery.

Marcel Massé served as Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet from June 5, 1979, to March 10, 1980.

Mr. Massé studied at the University of Montreal, McGill University, the University of Warsaw and Oxford University. He was called to the Quebec Bar in 1963 and in 1985 he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. After four years with the World Bank, Mr. Massé held a number of positions with the provincial and federal governments between 1971 and 1979, including Deputy Minister of Finance for the Government of New Brunswick, Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet for Federal-Provincial Relations and Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet (Operations). Following his term as Clerk of the Privy Council, Mr. Massé served as President of the Canadian International Development Agency, Under-Secretary of State for External Affairs, Canadian Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund and Secretary to the Cabinet for Federal-Provincial Relations. After his election to the House of Commons in 1993, he served as President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, President of the Treasury Board, Minister responsible for Infrastructure and Minister responsible for Public Service Renewal. Mr. Massé retired from Cabinet in 1999 and resigned his seat in the House of Commons. In 2002, he was appointed Canadian Executive Director at the World Bank.

Michael Pitfield served twice as Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet; the first time from January 16, 1975, to June 4, 1979, and again from March 11, 1980, to December 9, 1982.

Mr. Pitfield graduated from St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York, and the University of Ottawa. He obtained his law degree from McGill University and in 1962 he was admitted to the Quebec Bar. Mr. Pitfield joined the Public Service of Canada in 1959, serving as an administrative assistant to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada. Over the years he held various positions, including Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet, Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet (Plans), Deputy Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs and Deputy Registrar General of Canada. On December 22, 1982, Mr. Pitfield was appointed to the Senate. He served as Chairman of the Special Committee of the Senate on the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and as a member of the Standing Committee on Rules, Procedures and the Rights of Parliament. From 1984 to 2003 Mr. Pitfield served as Vice-Chairman and a director of Power Corporation of Canada and in 2003 was named Director Emeritus of the company. In 2003, the University of Ottawa Heart Institute created the Michael Pitfield Chair in Cardiac Surgery.

On July 1, 1963, Robert Gordon Robertson was named Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet, a position he held until January 15, 1975.

Mr. Robertson graduated from the University of Saskatchewan, Oxford University and the University of Toronto. He joined the Department of External Affairs in 1941, remaining there until 1945 when he became Secretary to the Office of the Prime Minister. He served as a member of the Cabinet Secretariat from 1949 to 1951 and Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet from 1951 to 1953, at which time he became Deputy Minister of the Department of Northern Affairs and National Resources. In 1953, he was sworn in as the youngest serving Commissioner of the Northwest Territories. From 1975 to 1979 Mr. Robertson was Secretary to the Cabinet for Federal-Provincial Relations. Following his retirement from the Public Service of Canada in 1979, he became President of the Institute for Research on Public Policy, where he was fellow-in-residence from 1984 to 1990. For his outstanding service to Canada in many areas of the Public Service he was named Companion of the Order of Canada in 1976. In 2000, Memoirs of a Very Civil Servant, his book recounting his career as a senior civil servant serving under the administrations of five prime ministers, was published.

Robert Broughton Bryce served as Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet from January 1, 1954, to June 30, 1963.

An engineering graduate from the University of Toronto in 1932, Mr. Bryce later studied economics at the universities of Cambridge and Harvard. He joined the Department of Finance in 1938 and in 1947 was appointed Assistant Deputy Minister of Finance and Secretary of the Treasury Board. After serving as Clerk of the Privy Council, Mr. Bryce returned to the Department of Finance as Deputy Minister. In 1970, he joined the Prime Minister's staff as Economic Advisor on the Constitution. He was appointed Canadian Executive Director to the International Monetary Fund in 1971 and served as Chairman of the Royal Commission on Corporate Concentration from 1975 to 1977. In 1968, he was appointed Companion of the Order of Canada for his services to Canada in various important posts of public administration. In his later years he researched and wrote on the history of the Department of Finance. He passed away on July 30, 1997.

John Whitney Pickersgill served as Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet from June 1, 1952, to June 1, 1953.

Mr. Pickersgill was a graduate of the University of Manitoba and Oxford University. In 1937, he joined the Department of External Affairs as Third Secretary but was almost immediately assigned to the Prime Minister's Office. He served in various capacities, including Assistant Private Secretary and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister, until his appointment as Clerk of the Privy Council in 1952. In 1953, he became a member of Parliament, entering Cabinet as Secretary of State for Canada, and in 1954 was named Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. He held other senior positions, including Government House Leader and Minister of Transport. After resigning his seat in the House of Commons in 1967, he was appointed President of the Canadian Transport Commission. In 1970, he was appointed Companion of the Order of Canada for his services to Canada as a public servant and former Cabinet minister. In recognition of his service, Mr. Pickersgill was bestowed the title "Right Honourable," usually reserved for prime ministers, governors general and chief justices. He passed away on November 14, 1997.

On March 15, 1949, Norman Alexander Robertson was appointed Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet, a position he held until May 31, 1952.

Mr. Robertson studied at the University of British Columbia as well as at Oxford University as a Rhodes scholar and at the Brookings Graduate School in Washington, D.C. He joined the Department of External Affairs in 1929, remaining there until the late 1930s when he was seconded to Prime Minister King's staff. In 1941, Mr. Robertson was appointed Under Secretary of State for External Affairs. He played an important role in the wartime administration and accompanied the Prime Minister to the major international conferences during and after the Second World War, including the United Nations Conference in San Francisco in 1945 and the Commonwealth Prime Ministers meeting in London in 1946. He served two terms as Canadian High Commissioner in London (1946-49 and 1952-57) and one year as Canadian Ambassador in Washington (1957-58). He served again as Under Secretary of State for External Affairs from 1958 to 1964. In 1966, Mr. Robertson became the first Director of the School of International Affairs at Carleton University. In 1967, he was appointed Companion of the Order of Canada for his nearly 40 years of service to Canada as a public servant and career diplomat. He passed away on July 16, 1968.

On March 25, 1940, Arnold Danford Patrick Heeney became the seventh Clerk of the Privy Council and the first Secretary to the Cabinet, a position he held until March 14, 1949.

Mr. Heeney was a graduate of the University of Manitoba, attended Oxford University as a Rhodes scholar and earned a Bachelor of Civil Law from McGill University. He became Principal Secretary to Prime Minister King in 1938 and two years later was named Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet. He was one of Canada's most important public servants during the Second World War, organizing the work of the Cabinet War Committee. In 1949, Mr. Heeney became Under Secretary of State for External Affairs, then Ambassador to NATO from 1952 to 1953. He served twice as Canadian Ambassador to the United States (1953-57 and 1959-62). For his services in the field of diplomacy and as a public servant he was named Companion of the Order of Canada in 1968. He was Canadian Chairman of the International Joint Commission from 1962 to 1970, a position he held until shortly before his death on December 20, 1970. His autobiography, entitled The Things That are Caesar's: Memoirs of a Canadian Public Servant, was published posthumously in 1972.

Ernest Joseph Lemaire served as Clerk of the Privy Council from August 14, 1923, to January 1, 1940.

Mr. Lemaire was educated at St. Charles College, Sherbrooke. He began his career in the civil service at the Privy Council Office in January 1894. From 1904 to 1912 he was Private Secretary to Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier, and accompanied him to the Colonial Conference in 1907 and the Imperial Conference in 1911. He transferred to the Post Office Department in 1912 and was appointed Superintendent of the Postage Stamp Branch and in 1921 became the Superintendent of the Equipment and Supply Branch. In 1934, he was named Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George, a British honour conferred upon those who had performed distinguished service in Commonwealth countries.

Rodolphe Boudreau served as Clerk of the Privy Council from May 6, 1908, to August 4, 1923.

Mr. Boudreau was educated at Nicolet College, Laval University. He was first appointed to the civil service on July 11, 1897, and during his career held the position of Private Secretary to Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier. He was named Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George in 1918, a British honour conferred upon those who had performed distinguished service in Commonwealth countries. He served as Clerk until his death in 1923.

John Joseph McGee was the longest-serving Clerk of the Privy Council, filling the position for almost 25 years, from May 20, 1882, to May 5, 1907.

Mr. McGee was born in Ireland and came to Canada in 1863 at the request of his half-brother, Thomas D'Arcy McGee. He was educated at St. Peter's College, Wexford, and McGill University, where he took a course of scientific studies. He was engaged by the government during the construction of the Intercolonial Railroad and entered the civil service in 1879 as a first class clerk in the Dominion Lands Branch of the Department of the Interior. Mr. McGee was appointed Assistant Clerk of the Queen's Privy Council on January 19, 1880, and was promoted to the Clerkship on May 20, 1882. He held a commission under the Great Seal of the Dominion, which empowered him to administer oaths of allegiance and of office to all persons appointed to any office under the Great or Privy Seals and was a commissioner under the Oaths Act for all the provinces. He passed away on April 10, 1927.

Joseph Olivier Côté served as Clerk of the Queen's Privy Council from January 13, 1880, to April 24, 1882.

Mr. Côté studied at the Séminaire de Québec from 1831 to 1835. Leaving to study law, he was admitted as a notary in 1841. From 1842 to 1843 he was the deputy registrar of Berthier County and in June 1845 he entered the civil service as a clerk in the Executive Council of the Province of Canada. He compiled two editions (1860 and 1866) of a useful handbook entitled Political Appointments and Elections in the Province of Canada. At Confederation, the Executive Council became the Privy Council Office and in 1872 Mr. Côté was named Deputy Clerk. In late 1879, he was appointed deputy governor general to sign letters patent for dominion and other lands. In January 1880, Sir John A. Macdonald appointed Mr. Côté Clerk of the Privy Council and at the end of 1880 he was appointed a commissioner per dedimus potestatem to administer the oaths of office for the government. In spite of increasing ill health he was able to carry on until his death on April 24, 1882.

William Alfred Himsworth served as Clerk of the Queen's Privy Council from July 1, 1872, to January 7, 1880.

Mr. Himsworth was educated in Montreal and was called to the bar of Lower Canada in 1841. He practised law briefly at Aylmer (Gatineau County) until he entered government service as a sessional clerk in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from 1842 to 1843. He became a clerk in the Executive Council Office in 1843 and rose to become Assistant Clerk of the Executive Council in 1851. He served as Assistant Clerk of the Privy Council from July 2, 1867, until he was appointed Clerk in 1872. Mr. Himsworth also held a number of additional minor appointments, including deputy for signing money warrants and, in 1875, Justice of the Peace for Carleton County. He died in Ottawa in 1880.

William Henry Lee was the first Clerk of the Queen's Privy Council, serving from July 1, 1867, to June 30, 1872.

Mr. Lee was educated in Montreal. In 1821, he entered government service as an extra clerk in the offices of the Executive Council of Upper Canada, moving up to junior clerk in 1828 and senior clerk in 1831. He became Acting Clerk of the Executive Council in 1839 and held the same position in the Province of Canada in 1841. From 1839 to 1853 he was Clerk to the Heir and Devisee Commission, established to clarify the land titles of the heirs or devisees of those who had been assigned Crown lands before 1795. Mr. Lee was appointed Clerk of the Executive Council in 1853, a position he held until his appointment as Clerk of the Privy Council. He also held a number of minor positions, including deputy governor for signing money warrants in 1866 and commissioner to administer the Oath of Allegiance under the Civil Service Act in 1868. He died in Ottawa on September 11, 1878.