PM Carney should seek policy advice from deputy ministers, not political policy advisers

With serious domestic and international pressures—including the potential for two provincial referendums on separation and the impact of the conflict in the Middle East—facing this government, the need for non-partisan, fearless, and evidence-based policy advice is especially critical.

Exempt ministerial staff play an important role in policy-making but Prime Minister Mark Carney should also lean on the advice of non-political deputy ministers, whose guidance is evidence-based and focused more toward long-term policy outcomes.The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Opinion

BY EDITORIAL

May 4, 2026

One of the perennial debates in the nation’s capital centres on whether policy advice to the government should come from deputy ministers or ministerial political advisers. Exempt staff in ministers’ offices play an essential role in that process. But according to Donald...

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