A new federal organization may bring the biggest changes to Canada’s machinery of digital government in more than a decade, observers say, but its success or failure will depend on the details of its rollout.
Last week, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the launch of a new federal organization designed to scale new technologies across the public service, better equip government employees with digital tools and reform procurement to support Canadian tech companies.
Digital Transformation Canada will be headed by former Google executive Patrick Pichette in the role of CEO.
“It’s very big news,” said Ryan Androsoff, vice president of learning and leadership at the Institute on Governance, a Canadian not-for-profit focused on public-sector governance.
“In terms of how government is structured to deliver digital services, this is the biggest change in at least 15 years.”
Over the last decade-plus, the federal government has tinkered with its approach to digital services through various smaller “evolutions,” Androsoff said, but nothing of the scale announced last week.
From 2010 to 2024, Canada slipped from third to 47th in the United Nations’ e-government rankings, dropping to one spot below Mongolia in the latest update.
The new digital transformation office aims to instead position Canada as a leader “in the digital age,” according to a news release announcing the launch.
But whether the organization will be able to address persistent issues in the “plumbing” of government, Androsoff said, remains “a bit of an open question.”
At this stage, details are scarce. Here’s what we know so far.
Fixing a ‘fractured digital landscape’
The new organization will absorb Shared Services Canada (SSC) — a large federal department with more than 8,500 workers and an annual budget of nearly $2.5 billion — and pull in smaller pieces from other departments and agencies.
Officially launching in 2012, SSC sprung from a desire under former prime minister Stephen Harper to consolidate some core IT functions and to save money through efficiencies.
As the bedrock of the new organization, SSC will bring with it “a bunch of existing responsibilities,” Androsoff said, but also plenty of resources.
One of the pieces being pulled in from outside SSC is the Canadian Digital Service, a team of about 250 people that was created in 2017 to help digitize public-facing government services.
Parts of Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) and Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) will be brought in as well.
Once assembled, the entire entity will fall under Procurement Minister Joël Lightbound.
For a long time, Androsoff said, Canada has suffered from “a fractured digital landscape.”
“The hope I see here is that this is actually a move to try consolidate some of those pieces — which I think, frankly, is long overdue.”
Jaxson Khan, a senior fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto, said his initial reaction was “more than cautiously optimistic.”
“Truthfully, I was quite excited,” he said.
The issue with deploying new technologies in government, Khan said, is often more organizational than it is technical.
Compared to the private sector, government has “a lot more hierarchy and siloing and structure,” he said. “Is it possible to try and consolidate?”
Khan gives the current government “a first check-mark” for attempting to pull select parts of existing outfits under one roof.
Next, he’ll be looking at the organization’s budget, headcount and legal authorities to determine whether it’s likely to deliver on its promise.
Too many targets, prof says
Daniel Caron, a professor at l’École nationale d’administration publique in Quebec City as well as an adjunct professor at Carleton University, says the new organization is based on good intentions and “could be promising,” but he has concerns about its scope.
“In my view, there are way too many targets, and they are of a very different nature,” said Caron, who spent 31 years as a public servant, most recently as deputy head of Library and Archives Canada.
“The new CEO will have to bring some focus.”
Pichette, the new CEO, was the Chief Financial Officer at Google from 2008 to 2015 and also spent time at Bell Canada, McKinsey and Sprint Canada.
As head of Digital Transformation Canada, he’s been handed three initial priorities: “scale shared solutions across government,” “equip public servants with more modern, secure tools,” and “use the Government of Canada’s purchasing power more strategically” to help Canadian technology companies.
In Caron’s view, Pichette will need to decide where to focus his energy if he hopes to deliver a clear message.
“That’s, to me, a huge challenge,” Caron said, “to bring the people around the table and to make sure that you know they’re on board and that they will put the energy to support these digital transformation objectives.”
Pichette will also need the full support of the Prime Minister’s Office and the Privy Council Office, Caron said.
In the coming weeks, Androsoff will be looking for answers to several “open questions” about how the new organization will function.
Will the Chief Information Officer remain at TBS, or will Pichette take over those responsibilities? Will TBS continue to lead AI policy? Will government-wide initiatives such as benefits delivery and the Phoenix payroll replacement move over to the new organization?
Androsoff expects the public will start hearing some answers before the end of September.
With files from Matteo Cimellaro.
Don’t let algorithms hide the follow-up. If you are tracking this story, make the Ottawa Citizen a preferred source so you get our live updates the next time you search.
