Alan Doody is moving from Newfoundland and Labrador’s government to take over as the NWT’s deputy minister of health and social services.
Doody replaces Jo-Anne Cecchetto, who is retiring after three years in the post.
His appointment was announced by Premier RJ Simpson, who said he had “broad and proven leadership experience” across not only health and social services but also infrastructure and military operations.
Simpson, who is on a sustainability drive to make healthcare in the NWT more cost-effective, said those skills would help the territory “strengthen health outcomes, build community wellness, and support a modern, sustainable care system that meets the needs of all northerners.”
Doody was previously Newfoundland and Labrador’s deputy minister of children, seniors and social development, a post he had held since 2022.
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Prior to that, he had been an associate deputy minister at the province’s Department of Health and Community Services, as well as the interim boss of the Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Health Information.
The GNWT said Doody had also served “as a senior military officer with the Canadian Forces, including a deployment to Afghanistan and several command and instructional roles.”
Deputy ministers are the most senior unelected positions in each GNWT department, reporting to the minister in charge – in Doody’s case, Lesa Semmler. They serve at the pleasure of the premier.
Simpson said Cecchetto – who has worked in the NWT’s healthcare system since 1988 – “brought heart, compassion, and deep clinical expertise to every role she held and leaves a lasting legacy across the NWT’s health and social services system.”
