Our Resource Hub
The Resource Hub was built by the Jarislowsky Chair in Public Sector Management to enable knowledge mobilization – ensuring that information, evidence and insights are accessible, understandable and useful for those who need it. The hub is structured as a reference library containing articles, interviews, and speeches authored by the Chairholder Michael Wernick, alongside videos and podcasts.
Additional resources and information on events organized by third-parties have also been made available to enhance your knowledge of governance and public sector management but also to support you in extending your reach and accelerating your research.
Should you have any feedback pertaining to the resources stored within the hub, please use this feedback form.
Search our resources
How we tag our resources
Accountability Bilingualism Budget Canada Contracting Defense Economy Education Elections Employment Federalism Foreign Interference Future Agenda Global Affairs Health Inclusion Indigeneity Infrastructure Investment Leadership Multiculturalism National Unity organizations Ottawa Pandemic Pluralism Political Transition Procurement Productivity Protest Public Administration Public Sector Public Services Quebec quicklinks Reconciliation Separatism Spending Staffing Structural Reform Taxation Transparency Unions Workforce Development Workplace Conditions
Our Categories
Selected Articles
Eliminating toxic woke ideology: what could that mean in practice?
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre may be a Prime Minister in waiting. It seems reasonable to give greater scrutiny in the days ahead to statements that may soon have to be transformed into government policy through laws, regulations, administrative practices and institutional change.
Cabinet Making 101
2025 could be a year of three Prime Ministers, like 1984 and 1993. That means at least one and probably two times that a new Prime Minister will face the task of forming a first Cabinet and deciding how it should be structured. What goes into the decisions about Cabinet formation?
Nine fault lines and seams within the federal public service
There are a number of fault lines and seams that are familiar to those of us who have worked within the federal service and have been engaged in efforts to improve its effectiveness. What follows lays out nine of them, with no attempt to rank them.
Latest Articles
Letter from Ottawa: Navigating through a year of uncertainty
With a change of prime minister imminent and a new president over the border, the Canadian public service faces a year of change – at a time when the government is also in the midst of an efficiency drive. Michael Wernick sets out why the public service will need innovation, creativity, continuity and resilience in the…
Trudeau bows out: what future for the student community?
Original post on January 22, 2025 Article written by Tom Chazelle Schulze — Journalist The beginning of this year was marked by a major turning point in Canadian politics. The announcement on January 6th, announcing the resignation of Justin Trudeau as Prime Minister of Canada, begins a phase of political transition. What possible impacts will…
Selected videos
Le Service Public : Le Processus De Décision Du Cabinet
L’ancien Greffier du Conseil privé du Canada, Michael Wernick, explique le processus décisionnel au gouvernement du Canada. Le rôle de la fonction publique est d’appuyer les décideurs politiques dans leur prise de décision sur une panoplie d’enjeux qui touchent la vie des Canadiens. Le Cabinet fédéral jongle quotidiennement entre la mise en œuvre des promesses…
Le Service Public : Le Secrétariat Du Conseil Du Trésor
L’ancien Greffier du Conseil privé du Canada, Michael Wernick, discute du rôle du Secrétariat du Conseil du Trésor au gouvernement du Canada. Ce ministère exerce des rôles importants à titre d’organe administratif soutenant le Conseil du Trésor du Canada. Sous la direction de la présidence du Conseil du Trésor, le Secrétariat fournit des conseils pour…
Selected podcasts
Poilievre says he wants to cut the federal public service
Conversations with Ben O’Hara-Byrne Listen on apple.com, published on January 23, 2025 Guest: Michael Wernick, former clerk of the Privy Council and now Jarislowsky Chair in Public Management at University of Ottawa.
The Backbench #117: Man of Steel, Nation of Bloat
The government hired 110,000 workers over the past 10 years, did we get 110,000 times more efficient?
Radio Interview about Trump’s Public Service
Michael Wernick discusses Trump’s early policies and their possible influence on the American and Canadian public sectors. Listen to it on spotify.
Selected books
Governing Canada
In this first ever handbook of its kind, Michael Wernick, a career public servant with decades of experience “in the room” with Canada’s top politicians, shares candid advice and information that is usually only provided behind closed doors
Selected Parliamentary Committees
To watch, join or participate in meetings see our list of selected parliamentary committees.
Our Knowledge Partners
