Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Monday that Michael Sabia, the former Quebec pension fund CEO and current chair of the Canada Infrastructure Bank, will be the next deputy minister of Finance in Canada.
Mr. Sabia will replace Paul Rochon, who announced last week that he was leaving the department. Mr. Rochon’s announcement came the day after Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland released a fall fiscal and economic update that said Ottawa will be working on a postpandemic recovery plan that could cost as much as $100-billion over three years.
The deputy minister is the senior public servant in a department. The job involves providing non-partisan policy advice to the minister, overseeing the management of the department and working on government-wide policy issues with other deputy ministers.
Mr. Sabia will start his new position on Dec. 14.
“The Prime Minister took the opportunity to thank Paul Rochon for his dedication and service to Canadians after having served the past six years as the Deputy Minister of Finance,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.
Monday’s announcement said Mr. Rochon will move to the Privy Council Office as a senior official.
Just eight months ago, the government named Mr. Sabia as the chair of the Canada Infrastructure Bank, a crown corporation with a $35-billion budget that is mandated to attract private capital investment for large domestic infrastructure projects.
In October, Mr. Sabia appeared alongside the Prime Minister to announce a $10-billion plan for the bank that would see it focus on environmentally-themed projects and contribute to a post-pandemic economic recovery.
Mr. Sabia has long been a voice of influence with the Trudeau government. While he was still the CEO of the Caisse de dpt et placement du Qubec, the provincial pension plan, he was part of an economic advisory panel that provided recommendations to Ottawa. That panel recommended the creation of the infrastructure bank as well as significant increases to Canada’s immigration targets, which the government later supported.
Prior to leading Quebec’s pension fund, Mr. Sabia was CEO of Bell Canada and Chief Financial Officer for Canadian National Railway. He has also worked in the federal public service, including the Finance Department and the Privy Council Office.
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Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna told The Globe and Mail earlier this year that since he joined the infrastructure bank, Mr. Sabia has been a trusted source of advice as the cabinet considers options for a postpandemic stimulus package.
Ms. Freeland’s recent update said the size of this year’s projected deficit rose from the $343.2-billion estimated in July to $381.6-billion. The update also said the deficit could be closer to $400-billion if the pandemic worsens over the final months of the fiscal year.
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