Jocelyne Bourgon

The Honourable Jocelyne Bourgon is the Founding President of Public Governance International, President Emeritus of the Canada School of Public Service, and Project Leader of the New Synthesis Initiative.

Madame Bourgon has had a distinguished career during which she led the Public Service of Canada through some of its most important reforms since the 1940s. She held significant positions and was the Canadian Ambassador to the Organisation of Economic Co‑operation and Development (2003 to 2007), Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet (1994 to 1999), member of the Queen’s Privy Council of Canada (1998 to present), and Deputy Minister in various departments: Transport Canada, the Canadian International Development Agency, Consumer and Corporate Affairs, and the Canadian Center for Management Development.

Madame Bourgon has vast international experience. She served as President of the United Nations Committee of Experts in Public Administration and President of the Commonwealth Association for Public Administration & Management.

She is the recipient of six honorary degrees. She is also a member of the Order of Canada and Knight of the National Order of Merit of the Republic of France.

Madame Bourgon has published extensively on public administration. She is the author of A New Synthesis of Public Administration: Serving in the 21st Century (2011) and The New Synthesis of Public Administration Fieldbook (2017), among others.

“There is no greater reward than the opportunity to make a difference in the life of one’s country.”