Key Contacts and Stakeholders

Cabinet Counterparts

Many aspects of the Portfolio’s work require close collaboration with other federal Ministers. While the Cabinet structure varies over time, key partners outside the Public Safety Portfolio typically include Ministers responsible for Justice; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada; Innovation, Science and Economic Development; Foreign Affairs; Infrastructure Canada; Environment and Climate Change Canada; Natural Resources Canada; Crown and Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs; Indigenous Services; Health Canada; and National Defence. The Department will support you in maintaining these relations through ongoing collaboration.

Provincial and Territorial Counterparts

Discussions between federal, provincial and territorial governments occur in a variety of fora, including in formalized structures and though bilateral meeting, which will support you to deliver on your mandate. Regular meetings at the officials’ level support the development of options for deputy minister and ministerial consideration.

Criminal justice, public safety and emergency management are areas of shared federal, provincial and territorial responsibility, which means that intergovernmental collaboration and consultation are essential. In some jurisdictions, PT Ministers are accountable for broad areas of responsibility similar to yours, while in others, these responsibilities are assigned differently.

Provincial and Territorial Ministers

FPT Tables

You will work with your PT counterparts through the FPT Table of Ministers Responsible for Justice and Public Safety and the FPT Table of Ministers Responsible for Emergency Management. These fora provide you with the opportunity to consult your PT colleagues and exchange views and concerns on issues of common interest.

• The FPT Table of Ministers Responsible for Justice and Public Safety is co-chaired by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness. PT co-chairs are also designated for in-person meetings with the host province/territory taking on that role. As in-person meetings have been replaced with virtual meetings due to the pandemic, the third co-chair is chosen by the PTs.
• The FPT Table of Ministers Responsible for Emergency Management is co-chaired by the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness and, The Honourable Mike Farnworth, Minister of Public Safety and the Solicitor General, British Columbia.

External Stakeholders

Advancing Canada’s public safety and emergency management interests requires effective engagement with a variety of non-governmental stakeholders and Indigenous organizations. In a number of instances, these organizations are also partners in policy development and program implementation.

Among the many with which you will engage, key domestic stakeholder groups include:

• National police associations (e.g., the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police; Canadian Police Association and the Canadian Association of Police Governance);
• Organizations representing first responders (e.g., fire fighters, police and paramedics);
• Community and non-governmental organizations(e.g., Red Cross; John Howard Society);
• Private sector organizations (e.g., insurance industry, digital and social media companies, critical and cyber infrastructure owners, importers and exporters);
• Indigenous communities and organizations (e.g., Assembly of First Nations; Native Women’s Association of Canada, Métis National Council, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, Congress of Aboriginal Peoples);
• Civil liberties organizations; and
• Research institutions and forums representing academia (e.g., Canadian Network for Research on Terrorism, Security and Society; Canadian Risks and Hazards Network, Canadian Institute for Public Safety Research and Treatment).

The Department and Portfolio engage with these groups on an ongoing basis and will also support your relations with these organizations as you require. The Portfolio also engages Canadians through a variety of communications and outreach activities. For example, the Cross-Cultural Roundtable on Security provides a forum for the Government to seek community-level input on national security issues. Members of the Roundtable are leaders within their communities who bring their own personal experiences to the table and help inform the Department’s policy work.

International Partners

The United States is your key international partner along with other Five Eyes countries (an intelligence alliance composed of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States). As well, you will interact with G7 counterparts through regular G7 Security Ministers meetings.

Key international contacts

• U.S. – Secretary of Homeland Security – Alejandro Mayorkas
• U.S. – Attorney General – Merrick Garland
• U.K. – Secretary of State for the Home Department – Priti Patel
• AU – Minister for Home Affairs – Karen Andrews
• AU – Minister for Emergency Management and National Recovery and Resilience – Bridget McKenzie
• NZ – Attorney General – David Parker
• NZ – Minister of Police – Poto Williams
• Germany – Minister of the Interior (elections to be held September 26)
• France – Minister of Interior – Gérald Darmanin
• EU – Commissioner for Home Affairs – Ylva Johansson
• Israel – Minister of Public Security – Omer Bar-Lev
• Mexico – Minister of Interior (SEGOB) – Adan Lopez
• Mexico – Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC) – Rosa Icela Rodríguez
• Italy – Minister of the Interior – Luciana Lamorgese
• Japan – Minister of National Public Safety Commission – Yasufumi Tanahashi

Early Outreach

Traditionally, a newly appointed Minister would contact a number of key stakeholders within the initial weeks of taking office. Whenever such meetings or phone calls are scheduled, departmental officials would prepare briefing materials and talking points to assist in these discussions.

While not an exhaustive list, the following list provides some suggested guidance on some notable stakeholders you may wish to engage.

Domestic

• Provincial/Territorial ministerial counterpart representing your home jurisdiction
• Co-chair of the FPT Table of Ministers Responsible for Emergency Management – Mike Farnworth
• Representatives of National Indigenous Organizations
• Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs – President, John McKearney
• Paramedics Chiefs of Canada – President Dale Weiss
• Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police – President, Chief Bryan Larkin
• Canadian Red Cross – President and CEO, Conrad Sauvé

International

• U.S. – Secretary of Homeland Security – Alejandro Mayorkas
• U.S. – Attorney General – Merrick Garland
• U.K. – Secretary of State for the Home Department – Priti Patel
• AU – Minister for Home Affairs – Karen Andrews

Date modified:

2022-04-28