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PGI President
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The Honourable Jocelyne Bourgon is the Founding President of Public Governance International (PGI), President Emerita of the Canada School of Public Service and Project Leader of the New Synthesis Initiative (NS).

Madame Bourgon has had a distinguished career in the Canadian Public Service where she led the Public Service of Canada through some of its most important reforms. She served as Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet (1994-1999), and Deputy Minister of various departments: Transport, Canadian International Development Agency, Consumer and Corporate Affairs, and the Canada School of Public Service.

Madame Bourgon has a vast international experience. She served as Canadian Ambassador to the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (2003-2007), President of the UN Committee of Experts in Public Administration and President of the Commonwealth Association for Public Administration & Management (CAPAM).

She is the recipient of six honorary degrees and was summoned to the Queen’s Privy Council of Canada (P.C.) in 1998. She is a member of the Order of Canada (O.C.) and Knight of the National Order of Merit of the Republic of France.

Madame Bourgon has published extensively on the subject of public administration. She is the author of A New Synthesis of Public Administration: Serving in the 21st Century (2011) and The New Synthesis of Public Administration Fieldbook (2017).


Learn more about Madame Bourgon’s Keynote Addresses, Articles and Publications:

Contact us for more information or to reach Madame Bourgon.

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Reflecting on the National Public Service Week of Canada, PGI has dug deep into our archives to share the first-ever digital Annual Report to the Prime Minister on the Public Service of Canada. The Sixth Annual Report was Madame Bourgon’s final report to the Prime Minister of Canada as she was preparing to move on from her role as the first female Clerk of the Privy Council. Her final report is reflective of her esteemed tenure as Clerk, one that continuously pushed boundaries and guided the Public Service of Canada through an unprecedented period of change to prepare for the challenges of the 21st century.