The national security and intelligence advisor () is a

public 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 ...

who advises 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 ...

security Security is protection from, or resilience against, potential harm (or other unwanted coercion). Beneficiaries (technically referents) of security may be persons and social groups, objects and institutions, ecosystems, or any other entity or ...

and

intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. It can be described as t ...

matters. The position is supported by the Security and Intelligence Secretariat and the Intelligence Assessment Staff and holds the rank of associate secretary in the Privy Council Office (PCO).

Responsibilities

The National Security and Intelligence Advisor has four main responsibilities: *providing information, advice and recommendations on security and intelligence policy matters to the prime minister; *co-ordinating members of the security and intelligence community; *along with the

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 ...

for the

Department of National Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divided ...

, is accountable to the minister of national defence for the

Communications Security Establishment The Communications Security Establishment (CSE; , ''CST''), formerly (from 2008-2014) called the Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSEC), is the Government of Canada's national cryptologic agency. It is responsible for foreign signal ...

; and *overseeing the intelligence assessment function, specifically the production and co-ordination of intelligence assessments for the prime minister, other Cabinet members and senior government officials.

History

The position was created in 2005 by

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

Anne McLellan A. Anne McLellan (born August 31, 1950) is a Canadian politician and academic who served as the ninth deputy prime minister of Canada from 2003 to 2006. She was a cabinet minister in the Liberal governments of Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin ...

and had been tasked by Prime Minister

Paul Martin Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and retired politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006. Th ...

to reorganize of Canada's national security scheme. She released a policy document called '' Securing an Open Society: Canada's National Security Policy.'' Daniel Jean resigned after he suggested that

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 ...

's trip to India was sabotaged. On November 8, 2019, Greta Bossenmaier retired from the Public Service of Canada. Foreign and Defence Policy Advisor David Morrison acted in the role while the Prime Minister's Office sought a permanent replacement. On January 22, 2020, Vince Rigby took up the post, which had been filled in the interim since Bossenmaier's departure by David Morrison Former National Defence Deputy Minister Jody Thomas took over the role on January 11, 2022. In June 2023 Thomas reached into the

Titan submersible implosion On 18 June 2023, Titan (submersible), ''Titan'', a submersible operated by the American tourism and expeditions company OceanGate, Implosion (mechanical process), imploded during an expedition to view the Wreck of the Titanic, wreck of the '' ...

file, as the hysteria over the missing adventure tourists reached its peak.

List of National Security Advisors

References

*Privy Council Office (2009)

Retrieved February 20, 2009. *Privy Council Office (2005)
Organization Chart
Retrieved July 8, 2005.

External links

*Privy Council Office
Securing an Open Society: Canada’s National Security Policy
*Privy Council Office

* https://www.canada.ca/en/privy-council/corporate/organizational-structure.html *Canada School of Public Service

Federal departments and agencies of Canada {{Canada-gov-stub