Javier Gracia-Garza

Role: Director General, Ontario-Quebec Region, Science and Technology Branch, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Dr. Gracia-Garza became a Special Advisor, Agriculture and Climate Change at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada(AAFC) on October 2020. He previously contributed to the department as interim Associate Assistant Deputy Minister and Director General in the Science and Technology Branch. He has been part of the department since 2016 where he led national and international science departmental priorities such as genomics, antimicrobial resistance and the nexus between agriculture and the environment, including climate change.

Prior to joining AAFC, he held various senior level positions throughout the federal government, including: Director General, Science Program Branch of the Canadian Forest Service at Natural Resource Canada (NRCan); Deputy Chief Scientist for NRCan (Jan 2014 to October 2015); Director General, Science and Technology (S&T) Strategies at Environment Canada; Policy Director on the Ontario Federal Council (OFC) Secretariat; and Regional Director, Strategic Policy and Intergovernmental Affairs, Ontario and Nunavut Region with Health Canada.

Dr. Gracia-Garza joined the federal government as a scientist with AAFC in 1998.