Stéphane Perrault holds a doctorate in constitutional law from the Université de Montréal and is a member of the Quebec Bar. His expertise in electoral administration and legislation is drawn from his distinguished career of more than 20 years as a senior executive and lawyer within a number of federal organizations.
Mr. Perrault’s career in the Public Service began in 1997 as a Law Clerk with the Supreme Court of Canada. In 1998, he joined Justice Canada as Counsel, and subsequently Senior Counsel in the Human Rights Law Section. He joined the Privy Council Office in 2003 as Senior Counsel, Legislation and House Planning, and then as Director of the Democratic Reform Secretariat.
After a brief return to Justice Canada, Mr. Perrault joined Elections Canada in 2007 as Senior General Counsel. He has since served in a number of executive positions within the agency, including Deputy Chief Electoral Officer, Regulatory and Public Affairs. He assumed the additional role of Associate Chief Electoral Officer in June 2016, during which time he oversaw the day-to-day management of Elections Canada.
Mr. Perrault has been serving as Acting Chief Electoral Officer since December 2016, leading the agency through important transformation and modernization initiatives and overseeing 11 by-elections across the country.