Dr. Stephen Lucas was appointed CEO of Mitacs, which supports business-academic collaboration through post-secondary student internships, in October 2024. He is an accomplished public policy leader with more than 35 years of experience with the Government of Canada, including 10 years as a Deputy Minister. He served as Deputy Minister of Health Canada from 2019-2024, and was previously Deputy Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Deputy Secretary of Plans, Consultations and Intergovernmental Affairs at the Privy Council Office.

Dr. Lucas has a Bachelor of Science with Honours in Geological Engineering from Queen’s University, and a Ph.D. from Brown University in structural geology and tectonics. In 2025, he was appointed as a Member of the Order of Canada and received the Vanier Medal of the Institute of Public Administration of Canada for his public service contributions and leadership, including during the COVID-19 pandemic.