Janice Charette

Janice Charette is a Canadian public servant and diplomat who served as the 22nd clerk of the Privy Council from 2014 to 2016 and again from 2021 to 2023. From 2016 to 2021, between her two tenures as clerk, Charette was the Canadian high commissioner to the United Kingdom. She was named the Government of Canada's chief trade negotiator to the United States on February 16, 2026.^[1][2]

Early and personal life

Born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario,^[3] Charette attended Carleton University, where she completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree. Charette is married to Reg Charette. Together they have two adult children.^[4]

Career

Charette joined the public service in 1984, working in the Department of Finance.^[5]

• 1988 – 1989— Policy Analyst, Office of Privatization and Regulatory Affair.^[5]
• 1989 – 1991— Senior Departmental Assistant, Office of the Minister of Finance.^[5]
• 1991 – 1992— Senior Policy Adviser, Federal-Provincial Relations Office.^[5]
• 1992 – 1993— Senior Departmental Assistant, Office of the Minister of Finance, then Executive Assistant to the Chief of Staff, Office of the Prime Minister.^[5]
• 1994 – 1996— Co-ordinator, Base Closures Task Force, then Director of Operations, Program Review Secretariat, and executive director, Strategic Projects Unit, Privy Council Office.^[5][6]

She served as the deputy minister for Citizenship and Immigration Canada from 2004 until 2006, and as the deputy minister of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada from 2006 until 2010.^[5]

Charette was appointed as the clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet on August 20, 2014, when Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that she would replace Wayne Wouters, who served from 2009 to 2014.^[7] She is the second woman to have held that post, which is the top civil service position in the federal government.

On January 22, 2016, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Michael Wernick would replace Charette as clerk of the Privy Council. However, on July 19, 2016, she was appointed as the Canadian high commissioner to the United Kingdom.^{[8][9][10][11][12]}

On March 1, 2021, Trudeau announced that Charette would serve as interim clerk of the Privy Council Office starting on March 9, 2021, while the current clerk Ian Shugart underwent cancer treatment.^[13] She was permanently named to the position on May 25, 2022.^[14][15]

Prime Minister Trudeau said Charette, as Clerk of the Privy Council, had a significant influence on his decision to invoke the Emergencies Act during the 2022 Freedom Convoy protest in Ottawa. This use of the Emergencies Act was later determined in Federal Court to have been "unreasonable and ultra vires [beyond their legal authority], and that it infringed paragraph 2(b) and section 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms" At the Public Order Emergency Commission investigating the decision, Trudeau said Charette's advice to invoke the Act played a large role in his decision: "But it was a big thing, not a small thing, to have the head of the public service formally recommend the invocation of the Emergencies Act and the declaration of a public order emergency."^[16] Trudeau added, "all the inputs in the system had come up to the Clerk of the Privy Council, the top public servant in Canada, impartial, professional public service making the recommendation to move forward on this. It was essential to me."

Volunteer work

Charette is a member of the board of directors of Royal Ottawa Healthcare Group and on the advisory board of the School of Policy Studies at Queen's University.^[17]

In 2008, she was national chair for the United Way's Government of Canada Workplace Charitable Campaign, raising over CA$136 million for communities and national health charities across Canada.^[4]

Awards and recognition

In 2023, Charette was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws from Carleton University.^[18]

She was made a Officer of the Order of Canada on December 31, 2025.^[19]

References

1. ^ "Prime Minister Carney announces new Chief Trade Negotiator to the United States". Prime Minister of Canada. 2026-02-16. Retrieved 2026-02-18.
2. ^ "The Honourable Janice Charette". Prime Minister of Canada. 2026-02-16. Retrieved 2026-02-18.
3. ^ "Canada"
4. ^ Government of Canada, Global Affairs Canada (2009-06-25). "Biography of HE Mrs. JANICE CHARETTE High Commissioner for Canada in the United Kingdom for Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Permanent Representative of Canada to the International Maritime Organisation". canadainternational.gc.ca. Retrieved 2020-09-01.
5. ^ "Background: Janice Charette, Canada's next Clerk of the Privy Council". Ottawa Citizen. 20 August 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
6. ^ "Mrs Janice Charette - Deputy Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada - OECD". oecd.org. Retrieved 2020-09-02.
7. ^ "PM announces appointment of Janice Charette as Clerk of the Privy Council". Prime Minister of Canada. 20 August 2014. Archived from the original on 21 August 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
8. ^ "Dion shakes up diplomatic ranks, replaces controversial Tory appointees". The Globe and Mail, July 19, 2016.
9. ^ "Diplomatic appointments". Global Affairs Canada. 2016-07-19. Archived from the original on 2016-07-20.
10. ^ "Diplomatic Life". Publishing Business. Retrieved 2020-09-02.
11. ^ "Dion shuffles diplomatic ranks, replaces controversial Tory appointees". Retrieved 2020-09-01.
12. ^ "Trudeau asks former top bureaucrat to assume interim job as Privy Council Clerk". Retrieved 2021-05-22.
13. ^ "High commissioner to the U.K. will serve as interim Clerk of the Privy Council". ottawacitizen. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
14. ^ "The Prime Minister announces a change in the leadership of the Public Service". 25 May 2022. Retrieved 2022-05-27.
15. ^ "Pardon my French". politico. 26 May 2022. Retrieved 2022-05-27.
16. ^ "Day 31 - November 25". November 25, 2022.
17. ^ "Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada: Public Sector Leaders". Financial Post. Retrieved 2020-09-02.
18. ^ "Janice Charette". Carleton University Senate. Carleton University. Archived June 23, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
19. ^ "Order of Canada Appointees – December 31, 2025"