New to Government

Accelerator

Build greater expertise, confidence, and courage as you learn the not-so-basic foundational aspects of what you need to know to be a successful leader. The Master Mentor stories and ideas will make your entry into the public sector from the private sector much easier, and may even spare you some costly mistakes.

If you are already working in the public sector and are preparing for a more senior leadership role, then you will also benefit from these lived lessons and perspectives as they will help fill in the 'Swiss Cheese' gaps in your experience and understanding.

Quick Links

Session 1 - Executive Roles

Session 2 - From Election to Operational Reality

Session 3 - Navigating the Halls

Resource Room

Executive Roles
Session 1

In this session, Master Mentors talk about the essential attributes needed to be successful as a senior public servant at the Federal, Provincial or Municipal level. Mentors will share their experiences working in these roles and discuss:

  • The ongoing skill development required especially with regard to relationships with the political service;

  • Common expectations held by the political service and the types of situations senior leaders typically face;

  • How these senior leaders develop their critical thinking and sense of timing;

  • How they manage expectations, learn to anticipate challenges and collaborate with others to help solve them.

This panel discussion will help you determine if this is the type of work you aspire to, confirm the skills you already have and help you to create a learning plan to develop those you need.​

Executive Roles in Government
Inside Public Sector Leadership

From Election to Operational Reality
Session 2

In this session, Master Mentors explore how ideas expressed in an election campaign, or arising afterwards, are developed and carried forward into governing. They describe their perspectives on the role of the political service, including partisan advisors and political staff, and discuss their experiences navigating relationships with politically active stakeholders and lobbyists. 

This session will help you better understand government transitions, including the process of installing a new government federally, provincially and municipally.  

The discussion will touch on the following: 

  • What goes into developing an election platform.

  • What it’s like for a politician when they first come into government.

  • What senior leaders should pay attention to during transition, pre and post-election.

  • How to manage politicians who think the public service is slow or a barrier.

From Election to Operational Reality
Inside Public Sector Leadership

In this session, Master Mentors talk about the important attributes and common challenges of working in government today. The relationships between politicians, senior public servants, Crown Agencies and Boards will also be discussed, in addition to the connection between International, Federal, Provincial and Municipal Levels of government.

Master Mentors will offer a glimpse into the mechanics and information flow in Provincial & Federal systems between organizational structures such as Cabinet Committees, Treasury Board, Cabinet Operations, and Offices of the Legislature such as the Auditor General, the Judiciary, Crown Agencies, as well as the differences in municipal governments.

Participants will gain insights into key roles in the Premier’s Office/PMO, such as that of the Chief of Staff, political advisors, the DM to the Premier/Clerk of the Privy Council and other roles in their office, as well as the role of Ministerial Assistants and critical roles and responsibilities in Municipal governments including CAO, Mayor and Council.

Navigating the Halls
Session 3

Navigating the Halls of Government
Inside Public Sector Leadership

Next Steps

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Session 1: Executive Roles in Government

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  • Jan Sanderson graduated with her Masters degree in Public Affairs in 1980. The first ten years of her career were spent in Saskatchewan working for first for the Federal government and subsequently for the Province. In 1989 she returned to her roots in Manitoba and began a 27 year career with the Province of Manitoba, spanning a range of progressive assignments in human resources, labour relations, and program management.

    In 2001, Jan became the CEO of Healthy Child Manitoba, reporting to the Healthy Child Committee of Cabinet. In 2009, this role was merged with her new assignment as Deputy Minister of Healthy Living, Youth and Seniors. In 2012, while retaining her CEO role, Jan was appointed Deputy Minister of the newly created Department of Children and Youth Opportunities.

    ​ In 2016, Jan left the Province of Manitoba and became a Research Chair at Red River College. In January 2020, Jan was appointed as a Member of the Order of Canada for her career service in the Manitoba public sector.

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  • Scott Thompson joined IPAC in 2019 as CEO, having completed a 34 year career with the Ontario Public Service.

    His tenure with the Ontario government included leadership roles in five different Ministries and Cabinet Office. He served as Deputy Minister of four portfolios, including Finance, Transportation, and Infrastructure.

    Throughout his career, Scott has maintained a strong commitment to improving public policy development and decision-making, and helping to guide public servants into being the leaders of tomorrow’s public sector. He was a valued member of the Public Service Commission of Ontario and the Executive Development Committee, and served as the Board Chair for the Ontario Financing Authority.

    Scott has also been an active member of IPAC for decades including many years on the Institute’s Research Committee. In 2020, Scott returned to government as Deputy Minister Finance for the Yukon.

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  • David Zussman is an adjunct professor at the School of Public Administration at University of Victoria and Senior Fellow at the GSPIA at the University of Ottawa.

    David has held a number of executive positions in academia, government and the non-for profit sector. In academia, he held the Jarislowsky Chair in Public Sector Management at University of Ottawa, was a professor in the School of Public Administration at University of Victoria and served as Dean of the Telfer Faculty of Management and Director of the GSPIA at the University of Ottawa.

    In the not for profit sector, David was President of the Public Policy Forum for seven years in the mid 1990’s, and in government he was Assistant Secretary to the federal Cabinet for Machinery of Government and served, for seven years, as Commissioner of the Public Service Commission.

    Zussman has authored many articles in refereed journals, published a number of books in Canadian public administration and has had a regular public policy column in the Ottawa Citizen and Canadian Government Executive. Currently, he also serves as Chair of the Board of Governors of the University of Victoria, is the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) and is a member of the Environment Canada and Climate Change Audit Committee.

    In 2017, Dr David Zussman was awarded the IPAC Vanier Medal. The Institute of Public Administration awards the Vanier Medal as a mark of distinction and exceptional achievement to a person who has shown distinctive leadership in public administration and public service in Canada, or who has made a significant contribution in the field of public administration or public service in Canada.

    In 2022, Dr Zussman was appointed to the Order of Canada.

Session 2: From Election to Operational Reality

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  • Theresa Oswald is the CEO of Doctors Manitoba and has held the post since January 2018. She also served as Executive Director of the Women’s Health Clinic in 2017.

    Theresa was an elected member of the Manitoba Legislature from 2003-2016. During that time she facilitated broad ranging community change through legislative, policy, procedural and program initiatives as Minister of Health, Minister of Jobs and the Economy, Minister of Healthy Living and Member of the Legislative Assembly. Theresa has expertise in forging cooperative relationships with union, community, corporate and intergovernmental organizations. She has strong experience in the management and balancing of budgets up to $5 billion.

    ​Theresa provides effective leadership, development and coaching to management and support staff to build a dedicated, productive and engaged team. Theresa is highly skilled in crisis management, media and public relations. Known for uncompromising integrity, fairness and compassion, Theresa employs a delicate blend of brain and heart to every decision that she makes and every project she undertakes.

    ​Prior to her time in politics, Theresa served as a teacher and a school administrator in Winnipeg. She holds a B.ED and B.A from the University of Manitoba.

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  • Chris Trumpy brings a wide range of operational and governance experience to his clients. He worked for the BC government for over 30 years in various capacities including Deputy Minister of Finance, Environment, Provincial Revenue and Sustainable Resource Management.

    He is currently serving as a director for Coast Capital Savings, Coast Opportunities Fund, and 94 Forward.

    Prior consulting work includes work on BC Transit, Industrial electricity policy, Wildlife Allocation, paramedics, local government governance and providing strategic advice to a range of clients

    He has a B.Comm from University of British Columbia, holds a CPA designation and is an ICD graduate.

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  • Janice Baker is currently the CAO of the Region of Peel in Ontario. She began her career in the private sector and in 1987 she discovered local government and found her passion. She has spent her career helping to build communities, having held senior roles at both the City of St. John's, Newfoundland and the City of Oshawa, Ontario before moving to Mississauga. Janice joined the City of Mississauga in May, 1999 as Commissioner of Corporate Services and Treasurer and was promoted to City Manager and Chief Administrative Officer in 2005. She retired from that role in May, 2020. On October 19, 2020, Janice was appointed as the CAO of the Region of Peel.

    Believing that leaders need to give back, she served on a number of Association Boards, including a term as President of the Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators (CAMA) in 2017-18.

    Janice has received a number of awards including:

    • Three time WXN Top 100 Award winner in the Public Sector Leaders category

    • Induction into the WXN Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women’s Hall of Fame in 2010;

    • The FCPA designation from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario (ICAO) in 2011;

    • The Excellence in Municipal Finance Award from the Municipal Finance Officers Association of Ontario (MFOA) in 2011.

    • The Vanier Medal from the Institute of Public Administration of Canada (IPAC) in 2019, becoming the first local government leader to be recognized with this award.

    Janice has a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) degree from Memorial University of Newfoundland. She has a long history of community and professional volunteer service and currently serves on a number of Boards and Committees in Mississauga and Ontario.

Session 3 : Navigating the Halls of Government

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  • Margaret Biggs is the Matthews Fellow in Global Public Policy for the School of Policy Studies and Department of Political Studies at Queen's University. From 2008 - 2013 she was President of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). In this role, she was accountable for policy advice, partnerships, programming and performance management related to Canada’s international development and humanitarian assistance, including Canadian initiatives on maternal and child health, sustainable economic growth, and fragile and conflict-affected states. In this capacity, she also contributed to the horizontal management of major foreign policy priorities such as the whole-of-government mission in Afghanistan.

    Previously, Ms. Biggs served as Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet (Plans) and Assistant Secretary, Priorities and Planning, in the Privy Council Office. As an Assistant Deputy Minister she held positions responsible for social and labour market policy and for skills, learning and social development programs.

    Ms. Biggs has an extensive background in federal-provincial relations and social policy and played a key role in the creation of Canada’s National Child Benefit. She started her career at the North South Institute. Ms. Biggs has represented Canada in numerous international fora and has served as Canada’s Alternate Governor to the World Bank, as International Executive Co-chair of the China Council on International Cooperation on Environment and Development, and on the Board of Governors for the International Development Research Centre. Ms. Biggs is a graduate of the University of British Columbia and the Norman Patterson School of International Affairs, Carleton University.

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  • George Abbott has enjoyed a long and distinguished career in politics and public service. Most recently, he was BC’s Minister of Education (2010-12), successfully launching such initiatives as the BC Teachers Council, the BC Education Plan and full-day kindergarten.

    ​George also served as Minister of Health for four years (2005-09). His leadership in prevention, primary care, acute care, pharmaceutical management and health practitioner regulation helped establish BC as a leader in Canadian health care. He also served as Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation (2009-10), Minister of Sustainable Resource Management (2004-05) and Minister of Community, Aboriginal and Women’s Services (2001-04). From 1996 to 2001, George served as Deputy House Leader for the Official Opposition.

    On George’s retirement, columnist Gary Mason of the Globe and Mail stated, “Abbott will go down as one of the most effective government ministers of the last three decades – or longer. Top notch in every way.”

    Prior to his election to the Legislature, he served for 17 years in local government including as Director and Chair of the Columbia-Shuswap Regional District and as a Councillor at the District of Sicamous.

    George was a Sessional Lecturer in Political Science at Okanagan University College from 1980 to 1996. He is currently a Sessional Lecturer at the University of Victoria and recently completed his PhD in Political Science. He is the author of, “ Big Promises, Small Government” 2020 and currently serves as Board Chair of Technical Safety BC.

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  • Richard Dicerni recently retired as the Deputy Minister, Alberta Executive Council and Head of the Alberta Public Service. ​Prior to accepting this position in October 2014, Mr. Dicerni was Adjunct Research Professor at the Ivey Business School and sat on various boards.

    Born and raised in Montreal, Mr. Dicerni graduated from the College Sainte Marie in 1969 with a Bachelor of Arts. He pursued graduate studies at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard where he earned a Masters in Public Administration in 1981. Mr. Dicerni started his career with the federal government in 1969. In the 1970s and 1980s, he held a number of executive positions in the federal public service including Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Health and Welfare; and Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet. In 1992 he joined the Ontario Government as Deputy Minister of Environment and Energy. In 1995 he assumed the position of Deputy Minister, Education and Training.

    In 1996, Mr. Dicerni was appointed President and CEO of the newly established Canadian Newspaper Association. Mr. Dicerni left this position in 1998 to become Senior Vice President at Ontario Power Generation (OPG). He stayed at OPG for the next seven years and led the company between 2003 and 2005.

    He rejoined the Canadian Government as Deputy Minister of Industry where he served from 2006 to 2012.

    He has served on the boards of Trent University, the Credit Valley Hospital, Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. (AECL) and the Public Policy Forum. He currently sits on the Board of Directors of Alberta Health Services and is Chair of the Ontario Energy Board board of directors.

New To Government
Resource Room

Next Steps

    • As you watched the videos – was there a quote that inspired you? Write it out on a sticky note and tack it to your computer screen so you can work it into your own practice of leadership.

    • Take 30 minutes to scan through this Resource Room. Decide what you’re interested in reading/watching and plan some time to come back. Tip: you are not expected to read everything here.

    • Pick an article to share with a colleague – then take a few minutes to discuss it over coffee.

    • How much do you know about how other orders of government work? The more senior you become the more important this knowledge is as many of the wicked problems facing society can’t be solved without collaboration.

    • If you haven’t been through a change in government talk to someone who has before it happens so you know what to expect and can be effective.

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