President of the King's Privy Council for Canada (French: Président du Conseil privé du Roi pour le Canada) is the title held by a member of the Canadian Cabinet who has the – largely ceremonial – duty of chairing meetings of the Privy Council. The Privy Council president often holds an additional portfolio, commonly minister of intergovernmental affairs, and is supported by the Privy Council Office.
Dominic LeBlanc has been President of the Privy Council since March 14, 2025; he previously held the role from 2018 to 2021. LeBlanc concurrently serves as the minister responsible for Canada-U.S. trade, intergovernmental affairs and one Canadian economy. The officeholder is selected by the prime minister of Canada and appointed by the Crown.
The president of the Privy Council has additionally been designated as the minister responsible for the Major Projects Office since 2025.
Role
The president of the Privy Council has the largely ceremonial duty of presiding over meetings of the Privy Council, a body which only convenes in full for affairs of state such as the accession of a new Sovereign or the marriage of the Prince of Wales or heir presumptive to the Throne. Accordingly, the last time the president of the Privy Council had to preside over a meeting of the Privy Council was in 2022 for the proclamation of the accession of King Charles III. It is the equivalent of the office of lord president of the council in the United Kingdom.
Under prime ministers Pierre Trudeau and Joe Clark, the position was synonymous with that of government house leader. In 1989, the government house leader became a separate position and the president of the Privy Council became a largely honorary title (not unlike that of deputy prime minister of Canada) given to a senior minister in addition to other portfolios. From 1993 it has regularly been held by whoever holds the portfolio of minister of intergovernmental affairs. In the past decade the position has generally been seen to be the closest thing to a sinecure posting within the Cabinet.