Branding the Public Service of Canada: A Model Worthy of Emulation or Unfulfilled Promise?

The adoption of new public management has had a profound impact on public services around the world as they began to incorporate a series of private sector business principles into their governance and service delivery models. One such development, which is now ubiquitous, was the use of various public sector branding processes, including attempts to brand government as a whole and its various departments, ministries, and other public sector organizations like corporations. The purpose of this chapter is to explore the Canadian federal government’s effort to emulate several leading private sector organizations that attempt to brand themselves as employers of choice. More specifically, in 2007, the former Canada Public Service Agency formally spearheaded a plan to establish a master brand for the federal public service. This particular initiative has been singled out as one of the most interesting branding exercises undertaken by a government. To what extent is that an accurate assessment? Has Canada truly been the vanguard with respect to branding the Public Service of Canada as an employer of choice? The chapter argues that despite good intentions and the discernible benefits to be derived from branding the public service, the initiative, like so many government reform efforts, has been one of unfulfilled promise. The government has yet to deliver a compelling public sector brand that has coalesced the views of current and prospective public servants and citizens alike around the name, values, and identity of the Canadian public service.