Education
Bachelor of Commerce (Honours), Carleton University
Professional experience
Janice Charette is a distinguished public servant whose career spans nearly 40 years.
Ms. Charette has twice served as Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet. She first held the role from 2014 to 2016, and later returned as Interim Clerk from 2021-2022 before being appointed as Clerk again from 2022 until her retirement in 2023. In this role, she served as the principal public service advisor to Canada’s Prime Minister and as the head of the Public Service. Previously, she was Deputy Clerk of the Privy Council and Associate Secretary to the Cabinet as well as Deputy Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs.
Prior to reprising her role as Clerk, Ms. Charette served as the High Commissioner for Canada in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from 2016 to 2021.
Ms. Charette has held leadership positions in eight departments that covered issues including skills development, labour markets, immigration, citizenship, social security, health, and justice. Her early career included work in finance, privatisation, and federal-provincial-territorial relations, as well as in the Prime Minister’s Office.
She worked in the private sector from 1996 to 1999 as Principal in the management consulting firm Ernst & Young, and then as Director of the Transition Team for the start-up of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.
Ms. Charette has been a champion for community mental health and mental wellness in the workplace. In 2008, she was national Chair for the United Way’s Government of Canada Workplace Charitable Campaign.
Ms. Charette currently serves as the Vice-Chair of the Rideau Hall Foundation and as a member of the Board of the Institute for Research on Public Policy. Since her retirement, Ms. Charette has been providing strategic advice to clients, including as a member of the Strategic Advisory Board for Wellington Advocacy and as a Senior Strategic Advisor at the Business Council of Canada.
Prior to her retirement from the public service in June 2023, Ms. Charette was appointed as a member of the King’s Privy Council for Canada in honour of her longstanding career in service of Canada and Canadians. She was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in December 2025.