Daniel Jean was the National Security Advisor to the

Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada () is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority of the elected House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons ...

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau (born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of Canada from 2015 to 2025. He led the Liberal Party from 2013 until his resignation in 2025 and was the member of Parliament ...

from May 2016 until May 2018.

Education

Jean possesses a

Bachelor of Social Sciences The Bachelor of Social Science (BSocSc or BSocSci) is an undergraduate degree. It typically requires three to four years of study in the social sciences at an institution of higher education, primarily found in the Commonwealth of Nations. It c ...

, International Relations and Economics, from the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...

and a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

from the

State University of New York The State University of New York (SUNY ) is a system of Public education, public colleges and universities in the New York (state), State of New York. It is one of the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, larges ...

Biography

Jean began his career in Canadian government in 1983 and has held various positions since then, including Deputy

Minister of Canadian Heritage The Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture is the minister of the Crown who heads Department of Canadian Heritage, Canadian Heritage, the department of the Government of Canada responsible for Canadian culture, culture, Media in Canada, medi ...

and Deputy

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

. While he was Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2015, Jean was seen to urge government to sign an extradition treaty with

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

National Security Advisor

Jean became the

National Security Advisor (Canada) The national security and intelligence advisor () is a public servant who advises the prime minister of Canada on security and intelligence matters. The position is supported by the Security and Intelligence Secretariat and the Intelligence Asses ...

to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in May 2016, after Richard Fadden retired from the position. Several months after his appointment, Jean went to

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

to talk about an extradition treaty and a "transfer of offenders" treaty. He assisted in the release of Hyeon Soo Lim from

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

Resignation

Jean attracted controversy in 2018 when he gave a briefing to journalists on Justin Trudeau's trip to India, in which Jaspal Atwal was invited to an event at the Canadian embassy. Atwal is a Canadian of Indian descent to was convicted of the attempted murder of Malkiat Singh Sidhu in 1986. Jean claimed that the briefing was designed to "counter a false narrative" that CSIS, the

RCMP The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...

, and the High Commission to India knew of Atwal's invitation in advance but did nothing. Following the briefing, several media outlets reported that a senior official had alleged that Atwal's presence was the result of a concerted effort to embarrass the Canadian government. The briefing drew criticism from some, including

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

MP Glen Motz for raising "the conspiracy theory of rogue Indian elements" rather than accepting responsibility for Atwal's invitation. Within 24 hours, Surrey Centre Liberal MP Randeep Sarai said that he had secured Atwal's invitation, thus giving the lie to Jean, who announced that he would retire as national security advisor in April 2018, stepping down officially on May 22.

References

Year of birth missing (living people) Living people University of Ottawa alumni Place of birth missing (living people) Canadian civil servants Canadian political consultants Canadian federal deputy ministers {{Canada-gov-bio-stub