Senior leadership appointment in the Government of Yukon public service

Press Release

June 2, 2026

Premier Currie Dixon has made a senior leadership appointment for the Executive Council Office.

Effective June 15, 2026, Brian L. MacDonald is appointed as a Deputy Minister of the Executive Council Office for a 5-year term. MacDonald will serve as an Associate Deputy Minister to Kelvin Leary, the Senior Deputy Minister within the Executive Council Office.

MacDonald will be responsible for First Nations Relations and Treaty Implementation, Major Projects Yukon and Intergovernmental Relations. Leary will continue to exercise responsibility for all other portfolios within the Executive Council Office.

I am pleased to appoint Brian L. MacDonald as a Deputy Minister of the Executive Council Office. His experience in public service and leadership across key areas of government will help support strong collaboration and advance important priorities for Yukoners.

Premier Currie Dixon

Quick facts

• This change utilizes existing resources and reprofiled positions from within the department.
• Deputy Ministers, including presidents of government corporations, are the most senior public servants in the Government of Yukon. They are responsible for departmental budgets, day-to-day operations and program development.
• Deputy Ministers serve at the pleasure of the Premier.

Backgrounder

Brian L. MacDonald

Brian earned a law degree from Dalhousie University and practiced law in Yukon from 1999 to 2015, with a focus on treaty implementation and economic development.

From 2007 to 2015, he served as a Director of Dakwakada Capital Investments Corporation and as Chair from 2009 to 2015. In 2013, Brian helped found the Yukon First Nations Chamber of Commerce and served as its President until 2015.

Brian joined the Yukon government in 2015 as Assistant Deputy Minister of Strategic Initiatives at Energy, Mines and Resources. He later served as Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief Negotiator in the Executive Council Office, returned to Energy, Mines and Resources in 2023 as Chief Negotiator and Special Advisor, and in October 2025 became Assistant Deputy Minister of Operations and Economic Development with the Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Culture.

He has also held leadership roles with the Yukon Surface Rights Board, Yukon Human Rights Commission, Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, Banff Centre, Kluane Park Management Board, and the 2007 Canada Winter Games.

Brian is a citizen of the Champagne and Aishihik First Nation. He enjoys spending time with his family and walking his golden retriever.

Media contact

Tim Kucharuk
Press secretary, Cabinet Communications
867-335-2419
tim.kucharuk@yukon.ca

Sonya Parsons
Communications, Public Service Commission
867-333-9638
sonya.parsons@yukon.ca

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