Hanover hires new CAO, brings fresh perspective to council

The RM of Hanover has hired a new CAO to replace their last CAO who was fired in May.

Ontario native Mike Primeau was hired last week to lead staff and advise council.

“Probably for each councillor it could have been a little bit different (as to what they were looking for). For myself it was his personality that certainly carried a lot of weight, but his knowledge that he comes with – Mike comes to us with a lot of knowledge,” said Reeve Jim Funk.

The RM received more than 250 applications for the role of CAO, which was whittled down to 10 and eventually three for council’s consideration. A questionnaire followed and Primeau was chosen as the perfect fit.

Originally from Elliot Lake, Primeau worked for Stantec Consulting, an international professional services company in the design and consulting industry, in Ontario before moving to Alberta in 2004. In 2007, he began working as an assistant CAO in Lac Ste. Anne County, northwest of Edmonton in central Alberta.

“I had worked for municipalities for almost 10 years on the engineering side, project management side, and not sure exactly why – not to pinpoint it on anything – it was just time for a change, I guess,” said Primeau about making the move to CAO.

Primeau said what he enjoys most about being a CAO is being around people, not only staff and council but the public as well. He also said he enjoys that every day is different.

Funk said, and Primeau concurred, that Primeau brings a different perspective to council that they didn’t have in the past. Even though council had recent budget and planning meetings, neither Funk nor Primeau could give specific examples on how this new perspective was demonstrated.

Aside from bringing a new point of view to council and experience in municipal affairs, Primeau said in the short time he has been working in Hanover, he feels the RM is well managed and cohesive.

“I definitely want to keep that going,” he said.

Council’s previous CAO, Luc Lahaie, was suddenly fired in May 2025 after Funk said council had lost confidence in him. Lahaie was Hanover’s CAO for 13 years. Until a new CAO was hired, CFO Derek Decru was filling in the interim.

“Well, Luc is a good CAO and Luc will do well for other municipalities. Sometimes a change is as good as the rest. In this case, Mike comes with a little bit of a different perspective. The more we get to know him, the more we see the change. Overall, we thought Mike was a very good fit for the RM of Hanover,” said Funk.

Primeau has two teenage sons and they will be moving to Steinbach in mid-March or April. The family likes to play sports. golf, and do various outdoor activities.