Dominic Rochon during a Global Government Forum roundtable
Prime minister Mark Carney has reshuffled the top ranks of the leadership in the public service of Canada in what is the second major shakeup in less than three months.
In an announcement made on 4 March, Carney announced changes that are intended to “support the strong, effective delivery of priorities and results for Canadians”.
Among the key appointments, Dominic Rochon, the chief information officer of Canada will move from the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat to become deputy secretary to the Cabinet for national security and intelligence in the Privy Council Office.
Rochon, who was the host of the AccelerateGOV conference with Global Government Forum, is among a number of appointments with a focus on positioning the federal government to advance “Canada’s interests and respond to the rapidly shifting dynamics of the global landscape”.
Other appointments include the arrival of Glenn Purves, the global head of Macro Research, BlackRock Investment Institute, who will become deputy minister of international trade.
Purves previously worked in the public service for more than a decade, including as assistant deputy minister of economic development at the Department of Finance, and now returns with a focus on boosting international trade.
David Morrison, currently the deputy minister of foreign affairs, becomes senior diplomatic and international affairs advisor to Carney, and will also act as personal representative of the prime minister for the G7 and G20 summits.
Read more: New GGF research: Canadian public servants report digital progress but ‘persistent’ barriers remain
Other appointments announced by Carney include:
Arun Thangaraj, deputy minister of transport, becomes deputy minister of foreign affairs.
Michael Vandergrift, former deputy minister of natural resources, becomes deputy minister of transport.
Ted Gallivan, interim deputy national security and intelligence advisor to the prime minister, becomes deputy minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship.
Dr. Harpreet S. Kochhar, deputy minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship, becomes president of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
Paul MacKinnon, president of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, becomes deputy minister of fisheries and oceans.
Nancy Gardiner, president of the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, becomes deputy minister of veterans affairs.
Cynthia (Cindy) Termorshuizen, deputy minister for the G7 summit and personal representative of the prime minister (sherpa) for the G7 and G20 summits, Privy Council Office, becomes deputy minister of international development.
Rob Stewart, deputy minister of international trade, becomes deputy minister responsible for leading the creation of the new Financial Crimes Agency.
Kevin Brosseau, commissioner of Canada’s ‘fight against fentanyl’, becomes senior associate deputy minister of national defence and, concurrently, commissioner of the Canadian Coast Guard, and will continue serving as commissioner in Canada’s fight against fentanyl.
David Angell, foreign and defence policy advisor to the prime minister, Privy Council Office, becomes associate deputy minister of foreign affairs.
Kaili Levesque, associate deputy minister of fisheries and oceans, becomes associate deputy minister of innovation, science and economic development, and president of the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario. Levesque will continue to support the secretary of state (nature).
Talal Dakalbab, senior assistant deputy minister, crime prevention branch, Public Safety Canada, becomes commissioner of corrections.
Francis Trudel, associate chief human resources officer, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, becomes associate deputy minister of Public Services and Procurement.
The appointees are expected to start in their new roles in the next few weeks.
Second round of big changes
This is the second round of changes among deputy ministers – the most senior public service rank – in less than three months, after a previous batch of changes announced on 19 December. These appointments included Nick Leswick, the executive director of policy at the Bank of Canada, who became deputy minister of finance, Shalene Curtis-Micallef who became deputy minister of health, and Christiane Fox, who became deputy minister of national defence.
Speaking to the Ottawa Citizen after the most recent changes, Michael Wernick, a former clerk of the Privy Council and Global Government Forum contributor, said the changes meant that the deputy minister’s group was now “very much Mark Carney’s team now, and [clerk to the privy council] Michael Sabia’s team”.
Wernick said the staffing decisions painted a picture of Carney’s top priorities: international relations and attracting investment from overseas, and added: “He’s kind of moulded the senior ranks to his priorities and management style as well.”
These leadership changes support the strong, effective delivery of priorities and results for Canadians, while positioning the federal government to advance Canada’s interests and respond to the rapidly shifting dynamics of the global landscape.
Read more: New Canadian government website tracks planned public service job cuts
New GGF research: Canadian public servants report digital progress but ‘persistent’ barriers remain
The changes come as Global Government Forum research revealed that more than half (53%) of Canadian public servants say their organisation’s digital capability is stronger than it was 12 months ago.
Overall, the Accelerating government transformation: Takeaways from AccelerateGOV2025 research indicates that digital transformation is moving forward, but key barriers remain.
Writing in a foreword to the report, Dominic Rochon, who is among those reshuffled by Carney and currently serves as deputy minister and chief information officer of Canada, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, said: “The findings paint a clear picture of both progress and persistent, interconnected barriers. While there’s momentum on digital transformation, participants expressed that it is too often slowed by budget and procurement constraints, legacy systems and integration challenges, and a lack of clarity around roles and accountability for digital outcomes.
“These are not new challenges, but their continued prominence signals that addressing them will require more than incremental change.”