Abby Hoffman

Abby Hoffman was appointed Assistant Deputy Minister of the Strategic Policy Branch at HealthCanada, October 3, 2011, after acting in the position since January 2011.  Prior to this, Ms. Hoffman served as Associate Assistant Deputy Minister of the Strategic Policy Branch.  In this capacity, she was responsible for the major files related to the health care system, pharmaceuticals management and regulatory affairs.

Since joining the department in 1993, Ms. Hoffman has held a number of positions at the Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Director General and senior advisor levels in the areas of women’s health, health system renewal, aging, pharmaceuticals management and therapeutic product regulation.  Prior to joining Health Canada, Ms. Hoffman was the Executive Director of the federally-mandated Canadian Panel on Violence against Women. She first joined the federal government in 1981 for a ten year stint as the Director General of Sport Canada. 

Ms. Hoffman was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1982, and was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from York University in 1998.   She holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in Political Economy from the University of Toronto.  She was an Assistant Professor of Political Studies at theUniversity of Guelph and a senior manager in the Government of Ontario before joining the federal public service.