John Whitney Pickersgill PC CC (23 June 1905 – 14 November 1997) was a Canadian civil servant and politician.

He was first elected to federal parliament in 1953, representing a Newfoundland electoral district and serving in Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent's cabinet.

John was the older brother of Thomas, Walter, Bessie,[3] and Frank Pickersgill, all of whom were born in Manitoba.

[5] Pickersgill was a senior and trusted adviser to both Prime Ministers: "Clear it with Jack" was the byword on Parliament Hill for years.

[1] Pickersgill entered the House of Commons of Canada as Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for Bonavista-Twillingate, Newfoundland, after the 1953 election.

[5] Pickersgill had become involved in the politics of Newfoundland at the informal request of leading federal politicians in the late 1940s.

He entered the Canadian Cabinet as Secretary of State for Canada in 1953 and was named Minister for Citizenship and Immigration in 1954.

He was later bestowed the Honorific Prefix "The Right Honourable", usually reserved in Canada for Prime Ministers, Governors-General and Chief Justices, as recognition of his service.

As a recipient of the Order of Canada He received the Canadian Version of the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal in 1977.