Stéphane Dion becomes Canada’s next ambassador to Paris

Joel Dennis Belavance
Journalism

Melanie Marquez
Journalism

Hence, Mr. Dion, who has served as Canada’s Ambassador to Germany since 2017, will continue his career as a Canadian diplomat in Europe. His tenure in Berlin was due to end this summer.

The position of Canadian ambassador to the French capital has been vacant for nearly a year. Behind the scenes, it’s hard to understand why the Trudeau government has taken so long to fill such a sensitive position in Canadian diplomacy. Especially since French President Emmanuel Macron has been tasked by his G7 peers to act as an interlocutor with Russia on behalf of the organization that includes Canada, the United States, France, Great Britain, Germany, Italy and Japan.

We also question the practice of appointing former ministers to such important positions rather than offering them to professional diplomats. “There was no Claude Laverdur, Marc Lorte or Raymond Chretien available? This was explained because for 10 years a French-speaking diplomat had not been promoted to have this option,” a State Department source lamented.

Among the Canadian Consulates, Paris, Washington, and London are among the most important diplomatic posts. To this short list should also be added the position of Canadian ambassador to the United Nations, in New York, and the position of Canadian ambassador to Beijing, China, a country that in recent years has become the second economic power after the United States.

strengthening relationships

The person who will settle in Rue Faubourg Saint-Honoré has been chosen for some time, but we have been waiting for the French presidential election to be a thing of the past before this prestigious appointment is officially decided upon. The second round of the presidential election, won by Emmanuel Macron, took place on April 24.

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

“I look forward to continuing to work with President Macron on the issues most important to Canadians and French people. This includes defending democracy, human rights and the rules-based international order in the face of Russia’s illegal, unjustified and unjustified invasion of Ukraine,” Trudeau said.

The prime minister tried to fill the position in Paris by showing it to former Foreign Minister Marc Garneau, who ousted him from his government after last October’s elections. A representative for Notre Dame de Grace Westmount said a month later that the offer had been turned down for “various reasons”. Garneau, who also served as transport minister for nearly six years before being transferred to foreign affairs in January 2021, insisted on completing his term as a Member of Parliament.

The result: the chair in Paris has been empty since the departure of Isabel Huddon, who has occupied it since 2017. At the end of April 2021, Justin Trudeau entrusted her with the role of patroness of the Development Bank of Canada.

After returning to the country last July, she had long since started packing her bags. To date, Sherpas remain in the Francophonie – a status not unanimously accepted by the State Department, according to our information.

‘A huge task’

Stephane Dion was sent to Berlin after being expelled from the Cabinet by Justin Trudeau, and replaced by Chrystia Freeland in foreign affairs in January 2017 in the wake of Donald Trump’s accession to the White House. He had left politics at once and then resumed service as a diplomat.

“Mr. Dion will have a huge task to rebuild relations with the French government and run a mission without a leader for a very long time,” said a source working in the world of diplomacy who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak. publicly about this date.

Stephane Dion has French citizenship. Everything indicates that he may have to abandon her before he reaches Paris. Indeed, the French government is reluctant to evade the rule that a French citizen cannot represent a foreign country in the French capital.