Council of the Federation Secretariat

What Council of the Federation Secretariat does

The Council of the Federation Secretariat is the small, Ottawa-based administrative body that supports Canada's 13 provincial and territorial Premiers in their collective work through the Council of the Federation, an intergovernmental forum established in December 2003 via a unanimous Founding Agreement signed in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. It facilitates Summer, Winter, and occasional Fall meetings of the Premiers, organizes international missions (including the historic February 2025 first-ever joint visit to Washington, D.C.), and coordinates interprovincial-territorial cooperation on shared priorities such as health care funding, interprovincial trade under the Canadian Free Trade Agreement, climate policy, and Canada-U.S. relations. The Chair rotates annually among Premiers, with Prince Edward Island Premier Rob Lantz serving as Chair for 2026 and Northwest Territories Premier R.J. Simpson scheduled to assume the role on August 1, 2026.

The Secretariat's "products" are programmatic rather than commercial: the official website (canadaspremiers.ca) and social channels (LinkedIn, YouTube, Flickr, email newsletter) serve as the digital hub; the Council of the Federation Literacy Award is an annual pan-Canadian literacy recognition; the Youth Internship Program is a 14-month paid intergovernmental relations fellowship ($50,000 annually plus relocation); the Promising Practices Podcast Series profiles mental health and addictions innovations in rural, remote, and northern communities; and publications and communiqués cover health care, fiscal arrangements, trade, energy, and climate. The organization does not sell products or services, holds no patents, and is explicitly described as not a technology company.

Revenue (effectively annual budget) is funded by recurring contributions from Canada's 13 provincial and territorial governments and is not publicly disclosed. The Secretariat operates under the direction of a Steering Committee of deputy ministers of intergovernmental relations, with a lean headcount based in Ottawa. There is no parent company, no subsidiaries, no venture funding, and no equity structure.

Name

Council of the Federation Secretariat

Legal name

Council of the Federation Secretariat

Website

https://canadaspremiers.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Council of the Federation Secretariat is the Ottawa-based administrative body that supports Canada's 13 provincial and territorial Premiers, facilitating intergovernmental meetings, international missions, and cooperative programs on health care, trade, and federation priorities since 2003.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Intergovernmental Relations Services

NAICS

Executive Offices (921110), Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support (9211)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAIABAA

Governor/Executive Office & Cabinet Administration

Business & Public Services/Public Sector & Government Administration/State/Provincial & Regional Government Administration

SECONDARYBPAIABAB

State Legislature/Regional Assembly Administration

Business & Public Services/Public Sector & Government Administration/State/Provincial & Regional Government Administration

SECONDARYMPAGAGAH

Government & Public Sector Conferences

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Live Entertainment & Events (Concerts, Theater, Festivals)/Conventions & Conferences (Business Events)

SECONDARYTHAHACAC

Government & Public Sector Congress & Summit Planning

Travel & Hospitality/MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Exhibitions)/Professional Conference Organizers (PCOs) & Meeting Planners

Keywords

• Intergovernmental relations
• Provincial governance coordination
• Interprovincial cooperation
• Public policy coordination
• Government secretariat services

Headquarters

HQ city

Ottawa

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: The Secretariat is funded by contributions from Canada's 13 provincial and territorial governments. It operates as a non-profit intergovernmental body.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Council of the Federation Secretariat provides administrative, coordination, and communications support for Canada's 13 provincial and territorial Premiers. It plans and executes Council meetings (Summer, Winter, and occasional Fall meetings), facilitates intergovernmental processes, coordinates international missions, and manages public-facing initiatives such as the Youth Internship Program, the Council of the Federation Literacy Award, and the Promising Practices Podcast Series.

Product overview

The Council of the Federation Secretariat provides coordination and administrative services for Canada's 13 provincial and territorial premiers through its website portal, meeting facilitation programs, and public initiatives. The core offerings include the main website (www.canadaspremiers.ca) as the digital hub for premier coordination, the Youth Internship Program (a 14-month paid internship in Ottawa), the Council of the Federation Literacy Award (annual award program), the Promising Practices Podcast Series (mental health and addictions content), Internal Trade initiatives, and a publications archive of reports and communiqués. The organization does not offer technology products or AI-enabled services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Council of the Federation Literacy Award: Annual award recognizing outstanding achievement, innovative practice and excellence in literacy across Canada's provinces and territories.
• Youth Internship Program
• Promising Practices Podcast Series

Products and services

• Council of the Federation Secretariat Website (canadaspremiers.ca) Official website of the Council of the Federation Secretariat serving as the digital hub for Canada's 13 provincial and territorial Premiers, providing information about Council meetings, initiatives, publications, and news releases, and supporting coordination of interprovincial-territorial cooperation.
• Youth Internship Program A paid 14-month internship program administered by the Secretariat for recent graduates to work in Canadian intergovernmental relations, with participants receiving $50,000 annually plus relocation expenses up to $3,000.
• Council of the Federation Literacy Award Annual award program presented in each province and territory recognizing outstanding achievement, innovative practice, and excellence in literacy across family, Indigenous, health, workplace, and community literacy areas.
• Promising Practices Podcast Series A 13-episode podcast series created by Canada's Premiers featuring promising practices in mental health and addictions, profiling innovative programs in rural, remote, and northern communities across provinces and territories.
• Internal Trade Initiative Initiative focused on facilitating internal trade across provinces and territories, removing trade barriers, improving labour mobility, and expanding Canadian markets through the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA).
• Publications and Reports Collection of reports and documents released by Canada's Premiers covering healthcare, fiscal arrangements, trade, energy strategy, climate change, and other federation priorities.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 20 years of continuous operation facilitating intergovernmental cooperation
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• National Governors Association (NGA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 February 2025The National Governors Association (NGA) is a key international partner. Premiers participate in NGA Winter Meetings and conduct joint missions to Washington D.C. In February 2025, all of Canada's Premiers jointly participated in a historic international visit to Washington D.C. for the first time ever, meeting with American political leaders to advocate for strong Canada-U.S. relations on trade, energy, border security, and immigration.
• National Conference of Governors of Mexico (CONAGO)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 May 2018CONAGO is the partner organization representing Mexican state governors. The three organizations (COF, NGA, CONAGO) co-host the Summit of North American Governors and Premiers, focused on economic development, trade, infrastructure, and workforce development across North America.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Assembly of First Nations (AFN): Canadian national Indigenous representative organization. While not a peer in sub-national executive coordination, it engages with the same federal-provincial-territorial policy space and shares analogous secretariat-style coordination functions.
• Confederation of Indian Industry (CII): A business association that, like COF, provides a neutral secretariat function and convenes leaders on policy issues. Included as a thematic peer in operating model (non-profit, member-funded, event-driven) rather than in mandate.

Broad incumbents

• European Committee of the Regions: An EU advisory body representing regional and local authorities. It is a broader institutional analogue: a supranational/sub-national coordination body that facilitates intergovernmental dialogue, though with a more formal advisory mandate than COF.

Emerging players

• Council of State Governments (CSG): A U.S. nonpartisan organization serving all three branches of state government. While broader than COF (which focuses only on Premiers), both serve as cross-jurisdictional coordination and information-sharing bodies for sub-national governments.
• Western Governors' Association (WGA): A U.S. regional body representing governors of western states. It is a partial peer: it coordinates sub-national executives on shared regional priorities (energy, land, water), similar to how COF focuses on cross-Canada coordination.

Direct peers

• Conferencia Nacional de Gobernadores (CONAGO): Mexico's national conference of state governors. CONAGO is one of the three parties (along with COF and NGA) to the trilateral North American governors' summit, making it a direct peer in sub-national executive coordination across the continent.
• Australian Council of Governments: A former intergovernmental forum for Australian state and federal leaders (now superseded by the National Cabinet). Functionally analogous to COF: convened heads of sub-national governments to coordinate policy on shared priorities such as health, trade, and infrastructure.
• National Governors Association (NGA): The U.S. counterpart organization representing state governors. It is the most direct peer: COF holds joint missions with NGA, both serve as the convening body for their nation's sub-national executives, and both facilitate inter-jurisdictional coordination on shared policy priorities.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCiP9Ya-9RohSfu9104vqbew
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cofs-scdf

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Council of the Federation Secretariat