Professional Affiliation

Deputy Minister, Health Canada

Expert Bio

Simon Kennedy was named Deputy Minister of Health effective January 21, 2015.

Previously, he served as the Deputy Minister of International Trade and Canada’s G-20 Sherpa. During his tenure, negotiations were successfully concluded on the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement. Negotiations were also concluded on the Canada-South Korea Free Trade Agreement, Canada’s first free trade agreement in Asia, and the treaty brought into force.

Prior to his assignment at International Trade, Kennedy served as the Senior Associate Deputy Minister at Industry Canada from September 2010 to November 2012. For almost a year during this period, Kennedy was also the Prime Minister’s representative on the Canada-U.S. Beyond the Border Working Group. In this role, he led the negotiation with the White House of the Canada-U.S. Action Plan for Perimeter Security and Economic Competitiveness, announced by the Prime Minister and President Obama in December 2011.

Kennedy began his career with the public service in 1990. These most recently included two deputy-level appointments: Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet for Operations (2008-2010) and Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet for Plans and Consultation (2007-2008).

 Kennedy holds a Bachelor of public relations from Mount Saint Vincent University and a Master of Science in communications management from Syracuse University. He is a graduate of INSEAD’s Advanced Management Programme. Mr. Kennedy also holds an ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors.