Civil Circles
Large shuffle to public service expected once Sabia takes PCO reins
A recent shakeup to the senior ranks of the federal public service could be clearing the way for a larger shuffle once newly-named clerk of Privy Council Michael Sabia assumes his role.
On June 20, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the shuffling of a handful of senior public service positions, promoting well-known and well-respected civil servants to new, key roles.
“A stronger Canada depends on a strong and effective public service—one that is focused on execution, delivery, and impact,” said Carney in the announcement.
David McLaughlin, a former high-ranking public servant and past chief of staff to then-prime minister Brian Mulroney, said the recent appointments are only the beginning of a larger shuffle of senior officials, which will likely happen after Sabia gets acquainted with his new role.
Sabia, whose Privy Council Office (PCO) appointment was announced on June 11, is scheduled to take the reins from outgoing clerk John Hannaford as of July 7.
A recent Policy Options piece by Kathryn May suggests another public service shuffle “could land as early as this summer.”
“All eyes are now on whether Sabia, as incoming clerk, will put his mark on the public service by shaking up departments central to Carney’s agenda,” wrote May in the piece first published on June 23.
McLaughlin said the June 20 appointments were likely “in the queue” under Hannaford, and that he “absolutely” expects Sabia to make further changes.
“Classically, when you have a major shuffle of deputy ministers, it takes place in consultation and conjunction with the [PCO] clerk and prime minister,” he said. “The new clerk needs to have that authority to do that, so a larger shuffle will absolutely come after Sabia takes over.”
To that end, after a lengthy career spanning several different departments, Jean-François Tremblay, most recently deputy minister of the Environment and Climate Change Canada, has been tapped to join the PCO as a senior official, as announced June 20. Tremblay will take on the role as of June 30.
The press release announcing Tremblay’s PCO appointment notes he is taking it on “while he prepares for his upcoming role” as Canada’s next ambassador and as permanent representative to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Tremblay’s curriculum vitae includes stints as deputy minister at Employment and Social Development Canada, Natural Resources, Indigenous Services, Infrastructure and Communities, as well as several senior roles in Health Canada and the PCO.
Tremblay is leaving the public service for an ambassador role after holding several high ranking positions and running a lot of major departments, McLaughlin noted, joking “So what else does he do?”
Michael Wernick, a retired public servant and former clerk of the Privy Council, said Tremblay will be “a big asset” to the OECD Council, which is made up of the ambassadors from the organization’s member countries.
“He has worked in many facets of government at the centre and in a range of line departments,” said Wernick. “He knows policy and operations.”
Both Wernick and Tremblay were named among the 15 most influential unelected people in Ottawa by The Hill Times in 2017.
Also taking effect on June 30, Mollie Johnson will leave her current dual role as deputy secretary to the cabinet for both plans and consultations and clean growth to replace Tremblay as deputy minister at Environment.
McLaughlin said this upcoming move “clears the deck” for Sabia to staff the clerk’s office with his own picks. Deputy secretary to the cabinet for plans and consultations is a big job, he said, noting Sabia himself held the role during the Mulroney government years.
McLaughlin noted Johnson’s background in clean growth and the environment, two files that are important to Carney. “It meets his priorities,” he said of her appointment.
Widely respected among her peers, Johnson formerly held several high-ranking roles at Natural Resources Canada between 2015 and 2022. From 2022 to 2023 she was associate deputy minister of Natural Resources, and, concurrently, special adviser to the PCO clerk on decarbonization.
Johnson was listed as one of the top 100 most influential people in federal politics by The Hill Times in 2024.
Nancy Hamzawi has been promoted within the Health Department, and is now president of the Public Health Agency of Canada as of June 20. She previously held the role of executive vice-president of the agency. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she was assistant deputy minister of the COVID-19 Testing Secretariat for Health Canada. Previously, Hamzawi held director and director-general titles at Environment and Climate Change Canada, and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada between 2022 and 2017.
Alison O’Leary has also gotten a promotion within the Finance Department. Formerly assistant deputy minister of federal-provincial relations and social policy, she now becomes associate deputy minister of Finance, effective June 30. Previously, O’Leary was senior assistant deputy minister of communities and infrastructure programming at Housing, Infrastructure, and Communities Canada; assistant deputy minister of communities and rural economic development at Infrastructure Canada; and assistant deputy minister of intergovernmental affairs at the Privy Council Office.
Kaili Levesque, as associate deputy minister of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, will provide direct support to Secretary of State for Nature Nathalie Provost, as announced by Carney on June 20. Meanwhile, Mark Schaan, as deputy secretary to the cabinet for artificial intelligence in the Privy Council Office, will directly support Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation Minister Evan Solomon.
Donald Savoie, a professor of public administration at the University of Moncton, said while more changes to the public service ranks are likely to occur, and Sabia will “bring a different perspective,” the top ranks of the civil service shouldn’t be scared.
“People should relax,” said Savoie. “That doesn’t mean he’ll go in with guns blazing and fire everyone in sight. That’s not what’s going to happen.”
Rather, he said, over time, Sabia and Carney will “shape, or perhaps reshape, the public service.”
“All other deputy ministers play to the tune of the prime minister and the clerk,” he said. “They effectively report to both.”
mglass@hilltimes.com
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