He is the latest in a long line of top Canadian coaches lured overseas by British federations recruiting in the build-up to London 2012.

Primeau follows fellow Canadian athletics coaches and friends Kevin Tyler and Derek Evely to the UK as part of an exodus of Canadian coaches ahead of the 2012 London Olympics.

Tyler was hired by UK Athletics in January as their strategic head of coaching and development, while Evely was hired in June as the director of a new high performance training centre at England's Loughborough University.

Triathlon coach Joel Filliol, who guided Victoria's Simon Whitfield to a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Games, was hired as Britain's head triathlon coach earlier this year, while Peter Eriksson, who helped wheelchair racer Chantal Petitclerc to five gold medals at the Paralympics in Beijing, was also snappedup by the British.

Ian Moss, meanwhile, was recruited from Rowing Canada Avironby badminton to be Britain's performance director in the London 2012 build-up.

Primeau, a 37-year-old former international decathlete, is currently the Canadian team coach for jumps, combined events and relays.

He is head coach at Vancouver Thunderbirds Track and Field Club, assistant track and field coach at the University of British Columbia, competitions director of the Harry Jerome IAAF Permit Meeting in Vancouver and head of cross country/track and field at St George’s School Vancouver.

Primeau will commence in post, which is being part-funded by UK Athletics, on November 1, having been introduced to the 400 coaches at the International Festival of Athletics Coaching in Glasgow over the preceding two days.

His first 12 months in post, through to the Delhi Commonwealth Games, will be a transitional period, as family matters require his periodic return to Canada before their relocation, when preparations will begin for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Primeau said: "I look forward to starting my new role as head coach at Scottish Athletics.

"There is a great tradition for the sport in Scotland but also a fantastic opportunity for the future of track and field here.

"Coaches such as Frank Dick and Tommy Boyle are famous the world over for producing incredible talent and athletes like Allan Wells and Liz McColgan have provided Scotland with a rich history.

"I am excited by the prospect of working with the coaches and athletes who are the present and future of athletics in Scotland."

Geoff Wightman, the chief executive of Scottish Athletics, said: “Laurier has experience of the sport at a high level and has the coaching credentials that will enable him to support Scotland’s athlete and coach pairing to achieve our sport’s potential especially at Olympic and Commonwealth level.

"This is a major appointment for scottishathletics and supports our main strategic goal which is to improve the level of medal success our athletes achieve on the international stage."

Primeau's appointment follows the announcement that American John Dagata had been appointed by Welsh Athletics as head coach for the Commonwealth Games.

Mike Whittingham, Sport Scotland's director of high performance, said: "This is a really exciting opportunity for the new head coach of Scottish Athletics to drive forward the sport and maximise the opportunities presented by Glasgow 2014.

"As strategic partner and a major investor in scottishathletics, we all look forward to working with Laurier and providing the best possible support, through the high performance expertise at the institute."