Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister (Canada) hold the formal title chief of staff. Bernard Roy, Brian Mulroney's principal secretary from 1984 to 1988, was the last principal secretary to act as head of the PMO before the creation of the chief of staff position. Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister (Canada) The Chief of Staff of Canada's Prime Minister's Office is the top official of the office. The position was created in 1987 to head the PMO. Prior to the creation of the chief of staff position, the office was headed by the Prime Minister's Principal Secretary, a position which is now secondary to the
Brian Mulroney visibly angry Mulroney called this "an avowal of failure" and "a confession of non-leadership." The exchange led most papers the next day, with most of them paraphrasing Mulroney's counterattack as "You had an option, sir—you could have said 'no.'" Many observers believe that at this point, Mulroney assured himself of becoming prime minister. On September 4, Mulroney and the Tories won the largest majority government in Canadian history. They took 211 seats, three more than their previous record in 1958. The Liberals won only 40 seats, which, at the time was their worst performance ever and the worst defeat for