Provincial Secretary

The Provincial Secretary was a senior position in the executive councils of British North America's colonial governments, and was retained by the Canadian provincial governments for at least a century after Canadian Confederation was proclaimed in 1867. The position has been abolished in almost all provinces in recent decades (Quebec in 1970, Ontario 1985, most recently by British Columbia in 2000); the exceptions are Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia, where it still exists but is no longer a senior portfolio.

The position existed prior to Confederation in the Province of Canada (as well as in the previous provinces of Upper Canada and Lower Canada) and the various governments in Atlantic Canada under British rule, though in Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island the title was Colonial Secretary. British Columbia also had a Colonial Secretary prior to becoming a province of Canada in 1871. Before the granting of responsible government and the emergence of the position of Premier, the Provincial Secretary was the leading position in the executive councils appointed by the various governors and lieutenant-governors of British North America. Frequently, Provincial Secretaries during these periods were the most powerful elected representatives in their jurisdictions.