# Principal Secretary (Canada)

In Canada, the principal secretary is a senior aide, often the most senior political aide, to a head of government. Formerly, the position of principal secretary was the most senior one in the Canadian Prime Minister's office (PMO). However, since 1987, it has been second to the chief of staff position.
The Leader of the Official Opposition and most Premiers also have a principal secretary.
The role of the principal secretary may vary, depending on how the prime minister or premier structures the workflow in their office. This has sometimes led to ambiguity in clearly defining the distinction between the roles of principal secretary and chief of staff to the general public.

## List of principal secretaries to the prime minister

The organizational structure of the Prime Minister's office has traditionally been hierarchical. Depending on the personal approach of the Prime Minister, the duties of managing, administrating and co-ordinating the activities of the PMO may belong to the Principal Secretary, the Chief of Staff, or another key advisor.
The Government of Canada does not maintain an official, complete list of persons that have held leadership positions in the PMO. The following list includes persons that have held the position of Principal Secretary, Private Secretary, Principal Private Secretary, Personal Secretary, or Secretary.
| No. | Name | Title | Term of Office | Term of Office | Political Party | Ministry |
| 1 | Hewitt Bernard | Private Secretary | 1867 | 1873 | Liberal-Conservative | 1 (Macdonald) |
| 2 | William Buckingham | Secretary | 1873 | 1878 | Liberal | 2 (Mackenzie) |
| 3 | Fred White | Private Secretary | 1878 | 1882 | Liberal-Conservative | 3 (Macdonald) |
| 4 | Joseph Pope | Private Secretary | 1882 | 1891 | Liberal-Conservative | 3 (Macdonald) |
| — | Vacant | Vacant | Vacant | Vacant | Liberal-Conservative | 4 (Abbott) |
| 5 | Douglas Stewart | Secretary | 1892 | 1894 | Liberal-Conservative | 5 (Thompson) |
| — | Vacant | Vacant | Vacant | Vacant | Conservative | 6 (Bowell) |
| 6 | Austin Ernest Blount | Private Secretary | 1896 | 1896 | Conservative | 7 (Tupper) |
| 7 | Ernest Joseph Lemaire | Private Secretary | 1904 | 1912 | Liberal | 8 (Laurier) |
| 8 | Austin Ernest Blount | Private Secretary | 1911 | 1917 | Conservative | 9 (Borden) |
| — | Vacant | Vacant | Vacant | Vacant | Conservative (Unionist) | 10 (Borden) |
| 9 | Arthur Merriam | Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister | 1920 | 1921 | Conservative (Unionist) | 11 (Meighan) |
| 10 | Laurent Beaudry | Private Secretary | 1921 | 1922 | Liberal | 12 (King) |
| 10 | Fred A. McGregor | Secretary | 1921 | 1922 | Liberal | 12 (King) |
| 11 | Leslie Clare Moyer | Private Secretary | 1922 | 1926 | Liberal | 12 (King) |
| 12 | Ralph Campney | Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister | 1925 | 1926 | Liberal | 12 (King) |
| — | Vacant | Vacant | Vacant | Vacant | Conservative | 13 (Meighan) |
| 13 | Howard Measures | Personal Secretary | 1925 | 1930 | Liberal | 14 (King) |
| 14 | Leslie Clare Moyer | Private Secretary | 1926 | 1927 | Liberal | 14 (King) |
| 15 | Harry Baldwin | Principal Private Secretary | 1929 | 1930 | Liberal | 14 (King) |
| 16 | Rob Finlayson | Principal Senior Secretary | 1930 | 1935 | Conservative | 15 (Bennett) |
| 17 | Howard R. L. Henry | Private Secretary | 1935 | 1935 | Liberal | 16 (King) |
| 18 | Arnold Heeney | Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister | 1938 | 1940 | Liberal | 16 (King) |
| 19 | Walter J. Turnbull | Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister | 1940 | 1945 | Liberal | 16 (King) |
| 20 | Gideon Matte | Private Secretary | 1945 | 1948 | Liberal | 16 (King) |
| 21 | Pierre Asselin | Private Secretary | 1952 | 1958 | Liberal | 17 (St-Laurent) |
| 21 | Dale Thomson | Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister | 1952 | 1953 | Liberal | 17 (St-Laurent) |
| 22 | Derek Bedson | Private Secretary | 1957 | 1958 | Conservative | 18 (Diefenbaker) |
| 23 | Marc Lalonde | Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister | 1967 | 1968 | Liberal | 19 (Pearson) |
| 24 | John Hodgson | Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister | 1966 | 1967 | Liberal | 19 (Pearson) |
| 25 | Marc Lalonde | Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister | 1968 | 1972 | Liberal | 20 (Trudeau) |
| 26 | Martin O'Connell | Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister | 1973 | 1974 | Liberal | 20 (Trudeau) |
| 27 | Jack Austin | Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister | 1974 | 1975 | Liberal | 20 (Trudeau) |
| 28 | Jim Coutts | Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister | 1975 | 1979 | Liberal | 20 (Trudeau) |
| — | Vacant | Vacant | Vacant | Vacant | Progressive Conservative | 21 (Clark) |
| 29 | Jim Coutts | Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister | 1980 | 1981 | Liberal | 22 (Trudeau) |
| 30 | Tom Axworthy | Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister | 1981 | 1984 | Liberal | 22 (Trudeau) |
| 31 | John Swift | Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister | 1984 | 1984 | Liberal | 23 (Turner) |
| 32 | Bernard A. Roy | Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister | 1984 | 1988 | Progressive Conservative | 24 (Mulroney) |
| 33 | Peter G. White | Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister | 1988 | 1989 | Progressive Conservative | 24 (Mulroney) |
| 34 | Jean Riou | Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister | 1993 | 1993 | Progressive Conservative | 25 (Campbell) |
| — | Vacant | Vacant | Vacant | Vacant | Liberal | 26 (Chrétien) |
| 35 | Francis Fox | Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister | 2004 | 2004 | Liberal | 27 (Martin) |
| 36 | Ray Novak | Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister | 2008 | 2013 | Conservative | 28 (Harper) |
| 37 | Gerald Butts | Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister | 2015 | 2019 | Liberal | 29 (Trudeau) |