Joseph Olivier Côté, 
Former Clerk of the Privy Council (1880-1882)

Joseph Olivier Côté
Clerk of the Queen's Privy Council
January 13, 1880 to April 24, 1882

Biographical Notes

Joseph Olivier Côté served as Clerk of the Queen’s Privy Council from January 13, 1880, to April 24, 1882.

Mr. Côté studied at the Séminaire de Québec from 1831 to 1835. Leaving to study law, he was admitted as a notary in 1841. From 1842 to 1843 he was the deputy registrar of Berthier County and in June 1845 he entered the civil service as a clerk in the Executive Council of the Province of Canada. He compiled two editions (1860 and 1866) of a useful handbook entitled Political Appointments and Elections in the Province of Canada. At Confederation, the Executive Council became the Privy Council Office and in 1872 Mr. Côté was named Deputy Clerk. In late 1879, he was appointed deputy governor general to sign letters patent for dominion and other lands. In January 1880, Sir John A. Macdonald appointed Mr. Côté Clerk of the Privy Council and at the end of 1880 he was appointed a commissioner per dedimus potestatem to administer the oaths of office for the government. In spite of increasing ill health he was able to carry on until his death on April 24, 1882.

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