The Canadian Secretary to the Queen is the senior operational member of the royal household of Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada. It is the principal channel of communication between the monarch and her Canadian government, provincial governments, and the governments of the fifteen other Commonwealth realms, as well as managing the monarch's other correspondence in the Canadian context and drafting speeches the Queen delivers in Canada or on Canadian topics. The secretary is responsible for advising the prime minister "on matters related to the Canadian Crown, including providing advice on the Government of Canada's heritage-related commemorative initiatives, high level coordination of royal tours to Canada, and state ceremonial and protocol advisory functions." Additionally, the secretary chairs, ex-officio, the Advisory Committee on Vice-Regal Appointments and holds responsibility for the official programme of tours of Canada by members of the royal family. The office of Canadian Secretary to the Queen was established in 1959. The present office holder is Donald Booth, who was appointed to the position in 2019.
History
The post was created in 1959 as the Canadian adviser to the monarch and coordinator of visits to Canada by members of the royal family. From 1998 to 2005, the office of Canadian Secretary was held by the Sergeant-at-Arms in the House of Commons, and the Usher of the Black Rod from 2009 to 2011. In 2012, Stephen Harper made the position of Canadian Secretary to the Queen a standalone position with a mandate to "advise the Prime Minister on matters relating to the Canadian Crown." In November 2015, responsibility for the Canadian Secretary to the Queen was transferred from the Privy Council Office to the Minister of Canadian Heritage, currently Pablo Rodríguez. As a result, the CSQ no longer reported directly to the Prime Minister. The roles and responsibilities formerly exercised by the CSQ were assumed by the Department of Canadian Heritage during this time. The advisory committee on vice-regal appointments was disbanded following the defeat of the Harper ministry in the 2015 federal election, and remains "dormant". After remaining vacant for nearly three years, the position was filled in 2019 by Donald Booth, a long-time federal civil servant who holds the position in addition to his duties as director of the strategic policy in the Machinery of Government branch of the Privy Council Office.
