A Public Servant's Voice: Through the Words of the First Woman Clerk of the Privy Council for Canada
Feb 2026 · University of Toronto Press
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About this ebook
Can ideas from the past help to invent a better future? In this part-memoir and part-guide, Jocelyne Bourgon explores this central question through the representation of her noteworthy career and professional life.
A Public Servant’s Voice presents Bourgon’s reflections on her time in government. As the first woman clerk of the privy council for Canada, secretary to cabinet, and head of the public service from 1994 to 1999, Bourgon brings an unprecedented perspective to public administration and public sector reform. She reflects on decades of work in the public sector and the field of public administration, in Canada and abroad. This book covers her career from her first days as a public servant to creating A New Synthesis of Public Administration to face the challenges of the 21st century. Along the way she played a key role in the Charlottetown negotiations, helped bring Canada a decade of fiscal surplus, launched initiatives to strengthen the public service, and worked with peers around the world.
Providing a public service perspective on events in Canada in the late 20th century steeped through the life of one public servant, this book is more than a memoir. Instead, it speaks specifically to those who are willing to take on the heavy burden of serving their fellow citizens and provides vital insights for the future of Canadian governance.
A Public Servant’s Voice presents Bourgon’s reflections on her time in government. As the first woman clerk of the privy council for Canada, secretary to cabinet, and head of the public service from 1994 to 1999, Bourgon brings an unprecedented perspective to public administration and public sector reform. She reflects on decades of work in the public sector and the field of public administration, in Canada and abroad. This book covers her career from her first days as a public servant to creating A New Synthesis of Public Administration to face the challenges of the 21st century. Along the way she played a key role in the Charlottetown negotiations, helped bring Canada a decade of fiscal surplus, launched initiatives to strengthen the public service, and worked with peers around the world.
Providing a public service perspective on events in Canada in the late 20th century steeped through the life of one public servant, this book is more than a memoir. Instead, it speaks specifically to those who are willing to take on the heavy burden of serving their fellow citizens and provides vital insights for the future of Canadian governance.
Can ideas from the past help to invent a better future? In this part-memoir and part-guide, Jocelyne Bourgon explores this central question through the representation of her noteworthy career and professional life.
A Public Servant’s Voice presents Bourgon’s reflections on her time in government....
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About the author
The Honourable Jocelyne Bourgon, PC, OC is the founding president of Public Governance International and president emeritus of the Canada School of Public Service. She had a distinguished career in the public service, including as the first woman secretary to cabinet for federal-provincial relations under Prime Minister Mulroney’s government and the first woman clerk of the privy council for Canada under the government of Prime Minister Chrétien.
The Honourable Jocelyne Bourgon, PC, OC is the founding president of Public Governance International and president emeritus of the Canada School of Public Service. She had a distinguished career in the public service, including as the first woman secretary to cabinet for federal-provincial relati...
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