Leading transformation through partnership and trust: How Dave Denault drives complex data migrations

Meet Dave Denault, an Ottawa-based Senior Director with Shared Services Canada (SSC), and the recipient of a Partnership Award from the APEX Awards of Excellence for his leadership on one of SSC’s most complex data centre migrations to date.

Dave and his team lead projects that help modernize government systems. They focus on planning, managing and overseeing migrations from legacy data centres to secure, modern enterprise facilities, coordinating closely to make sure Canadians have seamless and uninterrupted access to digital services.

When you cross the Canadian border, you probably don’t think about the technology working behind the scenes to keep things running smoothly and securely. But when it came time to move the Canada Border Services Agency’s (CBSA) sensitive systems to SSC’s enterprise data centre, failure wasn’t an option.

“It all had to work in concert,” Dave says. “And it turned out to be a great success.”

Moving critical data and ensuring uninterrupted operation is no simple matter—there’s no room for error. For CBSA, even a short disruption could affect real-time operations at the borders, impacting not only travellers but also commercial vehicles, shipments, customs processes and the essential services that keep border operations running smoothly, 24/7, 365 days a year.

“It took a lot of collaboration, transparency and clear communication,” he says. “We knew that trust would make or break this.”

From detailed contingency plans and real-time tracking dashboards to in-person workshops where partners co-created solutions, Dave’s team helped set the stage for a smooth migration. SSC and CBSA worked side by side, solving problems and sharing expertise.

After months of planning, the CBSA migration took place over a single weekend, without any major disruptions.

For his outstanding leadership and collaboration, Dave received the APEX Partnership Award. The APEX Awards of Excellence recognize exceptional leadership and management within the federal public service, honouring executives who make significant contributions that drive public service excellence.

The Partnership Award celebrates those who excel at bringing teams together and fostering cooperation across departments. Dave was recognized for his “ability to bring diverse teams together, foster open communication and propose practical, low-risk solutions” and setting “a new standard for interdepartmental cooperation.”

Completing the CBSA migration was a major milestone, and now Dave and the whole SSC team are putting those lessons to work as they support the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). The CRA and CBSA migration project, known as CCM, is one of the GC’s priorities for advancing the digital delivery of programs and services to Canadians.

These projects are about more than just moving data. They’re about building the digital foundation of the GC. And they’re powered by people like Dave.

SSC is the digital backbone of the GC. Our employees work diligently behind the scenes to ensure the GC is powered to deliver when Canadians need it most. Dave’s story is just one example. Meet the people of SSC and learn more about how SSC’s service delivery teams come through for Canadians as part of Delivering Digital Solutions Together for Canada.