News Releases

News Release - Manitoba

May 14, 2020

Province Announces Changes to the Manitoba Civil Service Senior Leadership



Premier Brian Pallister announced today the appointment of David McLaughlin as clerk of the executive council and secretary to cabinet as well as deputy minister for the Climate and Green Plan Implementation Office, following the departure of Fred Meier to become president of Red River College.

“Mr. McLaughlin is more than qualified to take on this new leadership role for Manitoba,” said Pallister. “His vast experience in government at both the provincial and federal levels and knowledge of the Manitoba government’s needs and priorities, make him the right choice and fit to serve as clerk at this time.”

McLaughlin brings over 30 years of government experience at both provincial and federal levels and in both political and public service settings. He has more than a decade of service at the deputy minister level including four years in the executive council office of the government of New Brunswick, where he served as deputy minister of policy and planning and secretary to the Cabinet Committee on Policy and Priorities. McLaughlin served as deputy minister of intergovernmental affairs and deputy minister to the commission on legislative democracy, also in New Brunswick. He was also executive director to the Council of the Federation’s Panel on Fiscal Imbalance.

McLaughlin was president and CEO of the independent National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy, a deputy-level position in the federal government. He is an acknowledged public policy expert in the field of climate and sustainability policy, and an honorary fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. Most recently, he was director of climate change at the International Institute for Sustainable Development.

“David’s knowledge and expertise in the fields of climate change and sustainable development is well-known across Canada, and Manitoba will benefit from him taking on this additional role of deputy minister leading our province’s Climate and Green Plan Implementation Office,” said Pallister.

McLaughlin has served in a number of other federal and provincial offices including the Prime Minister’s Office, office of the federal minister of finance, and the office of the premier of Manitoba. He is a published author, and speaks English and French.

Pallister thanked Fred Meier for his public service and dedication to Manitobans in his more than two-decade career in the provincial public service to date.

McLaughlin takes up his new duties effective May 20.

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