Kevin G. Lynch (born January 1951) is a Canadian

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

and former Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet, Canada's most senior

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

Life and career

Born in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

, he received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in economics from

Mount Allison University Mount Allison University (also Mount A or MtA) is a Canadian primarily undergraduate liberal arts university located in Sackville, New Brunswick, founded in 1839. Mount Allison was the first university in the British Empire to award a baccal ...

, a

Master of Economics The Master of Economics (MEcon or MEc) is a postgraduate master's degree in economics comprising training in economic theory, econometrics, and/or applied economics. The degree is also offered as an MS or MSc, MA or MCom in economics; var ...

degree from the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

, and a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in economics from

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood, Ontario, Ainslie Wood and Westdale, Ontario, Westd ...

in 1980. He is married with two children. Lynch began his career with the

Bank of Canada The Bank of Canada (BoC; ) is a Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation and Canada's central bank. Chartered in 1934 under the ''Bank of Canada Act'', it is responsible for formulating Canada's monetary policy,OECD. OECD Economic Surve ...

as an economist in 1976. In 1981, he joined the Department of Finance and rose quickly through the ranks, becoming a Director in 1983 and an Assistant Deputy Minister in 1988. In 1992 he became Associate Deputy Minister at

Industry Industry may refer to: Economics * Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity * Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery * The wider industrial sector ...

and

Deputy Minister Deputy minister is a title borne by politicians or officials in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. A deputy minister is positioned in some way "under" a minister, who is a full member of Cabinet, in charge of a particular sta ...

of that department in 1995. In 2000, he returned to Finance, this time as Deputy Minister. In 2004, he moved from Ottawa to Washington, DC, to serve as Executive Director for the Canadian, Irish and Caribbean constituency at the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...

. On March 6, 2006, he became the 20th Clerk of the Privy Council. On May 7, 2009, he announced that he would step down on July 1. He was replaced by Secretary of the

Treasury Board The Treasury Board of Canada () is the Cabinet committee of the Privy Council of Canada which oversees the spending and operation of the Government of Canada and is the principal employer of the core public service. The committee is supported ...

Wayne Wouters Wayne G. Wouters, (born April 1951) is a Canadian former public servant and past Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet. He retired as Clerk on October 3, 2014, and was replaced by Janice Charette. Life and career Wouters was ...

. On May 11, 2009, he was sworn in as a member of the

Queen's Privy Council for Canada The King's Privy Council for Canada (), sometimes called His Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council (PC), is the full group of personal advisors to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs. Practically, ...

giving him the Pre-nominal title "

The Honourable ''The Honourable'' (Commonwealth English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific Style ...

" and the

Post-nominal letters Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials, post-nominal titles, designatory letters, or simply post-nominals, are letters placed after a person's name to indicate that the individual holds a position, an academic degree, accreditation ...

"PC" for Life. He is Chairman of SNC-Lavalin, the Montreal-based engineering company; Vice-Chair of the BMO Financial Group and the Chair of the Board of Governors of the

University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a Public university, public research university located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is on of land adjacent to uptown Waterloo and Waterloo Park. The university also op ...

. In 2011, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada "for his contributions as a senior public servant, notably as head of Canada’s public service, and as a business leader and volunteer". In September 2011, the

Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada The Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada (APF Canada), created by an Act of Parliament in 1984, is an independent, not-for-profit think-tank on Canada's relations with Asia. Based in Vancouver, with a secondary office in Toronto, APF Canada funct ...

(APF Canada) and the

Canada West Foundation The Canada West Foundation is a conservative non-partisan think tank based in Calgary, Alberta. It researches issues of concern in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba and issues of national significance. The foundation focuses o ...

established the Canada-Asia Energy Futures Task Force with Kevin G. Lynch and Kathleen (Kathy) E. Sendall, C.M., FCAE, a former Governor and Board Chair of the

Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP), with its head office in Calgary, Alberta, is a advocacy group that represents the upstream Canadian oil and natural gas industry. CAPP's members produce "90% of Canada's natural gas and c ...

(CAPP), as co-chairs, and to investigate a long-term Canada-Asia energy relationship. One of their recommendations was the creation of a public energy transportation corridor. On July 1, 2013, Lynch became Chancellor of the

University of King's College The University of King's College is a public university, public Liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, Nova Scotia.Roper, Henry. "Aspects of the History of a Loyalist College: King's College, Windsor, and ...

in Halifax, Nova Scotia. On December 19, 2017, Lynch was named chairman of the board of directors of SNC-Lavalin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lynch, Kevin G. 1951 births Alumni of the University of Manchester Canadian economists Canadian people of Irish descent Clerks of the Privy Council (Canada) Living people McMaster University alumni Mount Allison University alumni Officers of the Order of Canada Politicians from Sydney, Nova Scotia Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada