Stefan Dion will be Canada’s next ambassador to Paris

Joel-Denise Belavens
Press

Melanie Marquis
Press

He has been Canada’s Ambassador to Germany since 2017. Dion will continue his career as a Canadian diplomat in Europe. His term in Berlin ends this summer.

The post of Canadian Ambassador to the French capital has been vacant for almost a year. Behind the scenes, it is difficult to understand why the Trudeau government took so long to replace such a sensitive position in Canadian diplomacy. Especially since French President Emmanuel Macron was instructed by his G7 colleagues to act as a negotiator with Russia on behalf of an organization that brings together Canada, the United States, France, Great Britain, Britain, Germany, Italy and Japan.

We are also wondering about appointing former ministers to such important positions instead of offering them to career diplomats. “Is Claude Laverdieur, Mark Larty or Raymond Christian not available? This is explained by the fact that the French-speaking diplomat has not been promoted for 10 years to have this option, ”a source in the Foreign Ministry lamented.

Among the Chancellors of Canada, Paris, Washington and London are among the most important diplomatic missions. This short list must include the post of Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations in New York and the post of Canadian Ambassador to Beijing, China, which has become the second largest economic power after the United States in recent years.

Strengthen relationships

The selection of the person to settle rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré has been going on for some time, but we expect that the French presidential election may be a thing of the past before officially making this ambitious appointment. The second round of the presidential election, won by Emmanuel Macron, took place on April 24.

Justin Trudeau spoke to his French counterpart in the days following his re-election.

“I look forward to continuing to work with President Macron on issues most important to Canadians and the French. This includes defending the international system of democracy, human rights and the rule of law in the face of Russia’s illegal, unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine,” Trudeau said. Mr. After the Macron victory.

Former Foreign Minister Mark Gorney, who was ousted from his cabinet after last October’s election, has sought to be replaced by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Paris. The offer was rejected “for all sorts of reasons,” the Notre Dame-de-Grace-Westmount MP said a month later. He was Minister of Transport for almost six years before being transferred to Foreign Affairs in January 2021. Garno insisted on completing his term as MP.

Result: The chair in Paris has been vacant since the departure of Isabelle Hudan, who has occupied it since 2017. In late April 2021, she was appointed by Justin Trudeau as Patron of the Bank de Development de Canada.

She returned to the country last July and began packing her bags a long time ago. To this day, she is still Sherpa to La Francophony – a situation that, according to our information, has not been unanimously approved by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“Heavy work”

Stephen Dion was sent to Berlin after Justin Trudeau was ousted from the ministry along with Christiana Freeland in Foreign Affairs in the wake of Donald Trump’s arrival at the White House in January 2017. He immediately left politics and continued his service as a diplomat.

“Mr Dion will have a very big task to rebuild relations with the French government and carry out the mission without a captain for a long time,” said a source requesting anonymity as he has no authority to act and speak in the diplomatic world. Be open about this appointment.

Stefan Dion is a French citizen. All suggest that he must give it up before he can reach Paris. In fact, the French government is reluctant to reject the rule that a French citizen should not represent a foreign country in the French capital.