[1] He entered Canada's civil service in the 1970s and rose through the ranks of the federal bureaucracy through several high-profile deputy minister portfolios, culminating as the nation's top civil servant from August 12, 1985 to June 30, 1992, when he was appointed Clerk of the Privy Council, in the Privy Council Office of Canada, during Brian Mulroney's ministry.
[1] In 1992, he left the civil service and was appointed by Mulroney as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Crown corporation Canadian National Railway (CN).
This was largely seen in the Canadian business community as an attempt by Bombardier to turn itself around following several lacklustre years of growth in the aerospace and passenger rail vehicle markets.
Since November 2006, Paul Tellier has served as joint chairman on the Prime Minister's Advisory Committee on the Public Service of Canada.
In October 2007, he was appointed by Prime Minister Harper to a panel responsible for reviewing Canada's military mission in the War in Afghanistan.