FEATURE Spring 2025 // Canadian Government Executive / 7 Canada’s 45th general election has returned a Liberal majority government. That new government – and it is new with a new a prime minister and agenda - must now prepare for office and power. That process is called ‘transition’. There is both mythology and mundanity to it. The most extraordinary event - a peaceful transition of power in a democracy - yields an ordinary procedural quality to it. One government is out, another is in. In truth, it is far more consequential, even for a re-elected government familiar with the corridors of power. Understanding Transition Transition is not a one-off event, the period leading to the swearing-in of a new prime minister and cabinet. That is only one of three crucial phases, if the most visible and symbolic. Transition is a continuous process that commences with pre-Writ planning with no formal end date. It consists of three distinct phases: • Phase I – Planning; pre-Writ up to E-Day (T1) • Phase II – Implementation; E+1 to Day 1 of new government including Swearing-In (T2) • Phase III – Consolidation; Day 2 Onward (T3) Transition is both procedural – taking over the machinery of government – and political – asserting the brand of the new government and setting direction and early decisions for longer-term success. Transition planning needs to take both elements into account if it is to be successful. What the new government decides to do cannot be separated from how it decides to do it. New processes, from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to the Privy Council Office (PCO) to Cabinet to ministers’ offices, are all up for grabs. Both the incoming prime minister and his team and the permanent public service, are uneasy partners in this initial phase. They know they should work together and may even want to work together, but time is sometimes needed to figure out how that will be done. Unlike Vegas, what happens in transition does not stay behind the scenes. It is very public in its application and results. Transition carries over into voters’ perceptions of the new government and prime minister. Mishandled, it can establish deep and damaging views of the new government’s competence that will be hard to shake. Done well, it can give a new government exceptional momentum to achieve its political and policy goals for the country. Goals and Strategy Transition should have one overriding strategic goal: to quickly and effectively get a grip on the decision-making apparatus of government and begin to successfully implement the agenda of the new government and prime minister. This is, after all, about governing. But there are several important sub or tactical goals: • Generate political momentum – converting election enthusiasm into political momentum to implement the new government’s agenda. • Establish policy priorities – tell Canadians and the public service what the new government will focus on first, and why, to set the table for results and begin to orient the machinery of government in the desired direction for longer-term action and results. • Communicate a new leadership style – show the public the leadership style of the new prime minister, using this as a tool to both generate momentum and build political capital. • Build the team – putting the internal team in place – Cabinet and political staff, first; Clerk and deputy ministers to follow – to implement the new government’s agenda, giving it purpose and direction. Audiences There are two distinct audiences that matter during Transition: the public and public servants. Both are important but for different reasons. A transition process that focuses exclusively on government bureaucrats in the first two weeks before the swearing-In, will find a confused and suspicious public once the new prime minister and Cabinet resurface. Electoral momentum from the win will be dissipated. The public is legitimately interested, and perhaps trepidatious, about what comes next, so deliberately engaging with them will help reduce anxiety and, more importantly, build political support for the government’s decisions. The purpose of thinking about audiences is that transition is the first step in the new PM and government forging the relationship it wants. Secrecy and mistrust will undermine any relationship, beginning with a new government’s honeymoon. Accordingly, it is crucial to prepare and implement a two-track strategy of engaging with public servants while, at the same time, informing the public of goals, priorities, and timing. This requires a complementary communications strategy for the incoming prime minister, with purpose-built events and activities along the way from E+1 to SwearingIn Day, as part of Phase II transition. Within the public service, there are multiple sub-audiences: deputy ministers and senior officials in line departments; ABCs (agencies, boards, and commissions) senior officials and governance board members; as well as rank-and-file public servants. While it is impossible to meet with all these sub-audiences during Transition Phase II, targeted messages via public media and video messages across the whole public service during Transition Phase III can suffice. Follow-up meetings as required and on a proper schedule then cement the relationships and messaging. Transition should have one overriding strategic goal: to quickly and effectively get a grip on the decision-making apparatus of government and begin to successfully implement the agenda of the new government and prime minister.
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