Senior Executive Organizational Structure

Arun Thangaraj was appointed Deputy Minister of Transport on February 20, 2023.

Before joining Transport Canada, Arun was the Associate Deputy Minister at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, following two years as the Associate Deputy Minister at Transport Canada.

Before these roles, he was Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief Financial Officer at Global Affairs Canada and was the Deputy Chief Financial Officer at the former Canadian International Development Agency. He also brings experience and knowledge on transportation issues, from his time at the Canadian Transportation Agency from 2002 to 2011.

Arun received the King Charles III Medal in 2025 and the Queen Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2013 for his contribution to the federal public service and to his community. He serves as the Champion for the National Managers’ Community and contributes to various governance boards and was a sessional lecturer in the School of Public Administration at Carleton University.

Arun is a Chartered Professional Accountant and holds a Master of Arts in Public Administration from Carleton University, a Master of Business Administration from the University of Ottawa, and an Honours BA in Political Science from the University of Toronto. He is married with three children, and three dogs, and is a big fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Brigitte Diogo was appointed Associate Deputy Minister of Transport Canada, effective May 6, 2024. Prior to this, she served as Deputy Commissioner of the Canada Revenue Agency starting in April 2022.

From 2020 to 2022, Brigitte was Vice-President, Health Security and Regional Operations, at the Public Health Agency of Canada during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. She led the multidisciplinary and interdepartmental efforts on the development and implementation of Canada’s emergency border measures to reduce the risk of importation and transmission of COVID-19 due to international travel.

As Director General of Rail Safety at Transport Canada from 2015 to 2020, Brigitte was responsible for overseeing safety requirements for federally regulated railway companies including compliance monitoring and enforcement. In this role, she led significant legislative and regulatory changes to improve rail safety regime in Canada.

From 2008 to 2014, Brigitte worked at the Privy Council Office on economic and regional development policy as well as on national security and intelligence. Brigitte started her career at Citizenship and Immigration Canada where she worked on international migration policies and on requirements for admission to Canada including visa policy.

Brigitte graduated from the University of Ottawa in economics, public administration, and political science. She also holds a Masters Certificate in Operational Risk Management from the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University.