Paul MacKinnon was appointed President of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) on January 27, 2024.
About the President
Prior to joining the CFIA, Paul served as Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet (Governance) at the Privy Council Office (PCO) from 2021 to 2024. While there, Paul supported the Government House Leader in delivering the Government's legislative agenda while also being responsible for providing advice on machinery of government issues across numerous agencies and departments.
From 2019 to 2021, Paul was Executive Vice-President of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). He played a key role in leading Canada's management of the border for both travel and trade during the COVID-19 pandemic, working to support Canadian businesses by ensuring that pathways for the exporting and importing of goods remained open.
Prior to joining the CBSA, Paul was Assistant Deputy Minister of Strategic and Program Policy, at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (2016 to 2019). His responsibilities included leading consultations with national and international partners and stakeholders to advance Canada's broad immigration policy.
Paul served as Assistant Deputy Minister of Portfolio Affairs and Communications at Public Safety Canada from 2011 to 2016. Paul worked extensively on Canada-United States border issues. He was the lead Canadian negotiator for the Agreement on Land, Rail, Marine and Air Transport Preclearance between the Government of Canada and the United States, which expedites the flow of legitimate travel and trade between Canada and the US while ensuring security and border integrity.
Paul has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Prince Edward Island.