Malcolm Brown

Malcolm Brown is the former Canadian Deputy Minister of Public Safety, a position he held from 2016 to 2019. He retired from the Canadian Federal Public Service in April 2019 after nearly 31 years as a public servant and a decade at the Deputy Minister level. As Deputy Minister of Public Safety, he led major policy and legislative initiatives in the areas of national security, cyber security, emergency management, and corrections reform. He also ensured coordinated actions across the public safety portfolio, which includes the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Canada Border Services Agency, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the Correctional Service of Canada, and the Parole Board of Canada. He is Treasurer of the MPI Board of Trustees.

Previously, Mr. Brown served as Special Advisor to the Clerk of the Privy Council on the Syrian Refugee Initiative between 2015 and 2016, supporting the selection, screening, arrival, and settlement of more than 25,000 Syrian refugees. Between 2014 and 2015, he was the Deputy Minister of International Development. In this role, he oversaw Canada’s international development agenda and served as Canada’s Alternate Governor for the World Bank. He was appointed Executive Vice President of the Canada Border Services Agency in 2011 and Associate Deputy Minister of Natural Resources in 2009.

Mr. Brown began his federal public service career in the Federal Provincial Relations Office in 1990. He then worked at Health Canada and later at the Privy Council Office where, among other senior positions, he served as Assistant Deputy Minister responsible for the Reference Group of Ministers on Aboriginal Policy. Between 2002 and 2009, he occupied Assistant Deputy Minister-level positions with Human Resources Development Canada, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, and Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC), culminating with the position of Senior Assistant Deputy Minister of Strategic Policy and Research at HRSDC.

He began his career as a Legislative Assistant on Parliament Hill, and has also worked in the Ontario government in the Ministries of Housing and Intergovernmental Affairs. Mr. Brown holds a bachelor of arts degree in political studies from Queen's University and a master of arts degree in political science from York University.