PM Trudeau taps new top national security adviser

Deputy Clerk of the Privy Council Nathalie Drouin appears as witnesses at the Public Order Emergency Commission, in Ottawa, Friday, Nov. 18, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has named a new top aide on national security matters, his seventh since coming to power.

On Friday, Trudeau announced Nathalie G. Drouin will become his next National Security and Intelligence Advisor (NSIA), as of Jan. 27, 2024.

Drouin will be replacing Jody Thomas, who in December, shared her plans to retire early this year.

Drouin will also maintain her current position as deputy clerk of the Privy Council Office (PCO)—the top office in the federal bureaucracy—a role she's held since 2021.

The responsibility Drouin had as the associate secretary to cabinet is being assigned to fellow senior federal public servant Christiane Fox, who will also become a deputy PCO clerk, according to a release from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

Drouin has been a public servant for more than two decades, beginning her career with the Canadian government in 1999. Over the years, the Université Laval alumnus and member of the Quebec Bar has worked her way from being a director of legal affairs, to becoming the deputy minister of justice and deputy attorney general in 2017.

It was in her justice department capacity that Drouin was called to testify before MPs as part of the SNC-Lavalin scandal in 2019.

In 2022, she was among the federal officials that was questioned during the Emergencies Act public inquiry.

The prime minister has already worked with six different senior officials in the role of NSIA, since he took office.

When Trudeau became prime minister, Richard Fadden held the position. Following Fadden's retirement in 2016, he was replaced by Daniel Jean, who resigned in 2018 amid controversy over the prime minister's first ill-fated India trip.

Jean was replaced by Greta Bossenmaier, who retired in 2019, after approximately a year and half in the role. Then, David Morrison held the position in an acting capacity until Vincent Rigby was tapped to be Trudeau's NSIA in 2020. Thomas then took over in 2022 following Rigby's retirement.

In the resignation letter Thomas sent to her colleagues, she thanked Trudeau for "listening to me, debating with me and giving me the space to do my job," as she sought to navigate a series of pressing intelligence files over the last two years.

A central element of the job as NSIA is to brief the prime minister and cabinet on matters of national security, providing policy and operational guidance. Canada's NSIA also convenes and coordinates with key domestic and international players within the intelligence community.

In Friday's update on changes to the senior ranks of the public service, Trudeau thanked Thomas, alongside other retiring bureaucrats for their "years of tireless efforts serving Canadians."