Prime Minister Mark Carney is appointing his national security adviser and a former cabinet minister as Ottawa's top envoys to Paris and London — world capitals where his government is pursuing deeper economic, security and climate policy ties.
Former cabinet minister Bill Blair will resign his Toronto seat in the House of Commons in the coming weeks to take on a new role as Canada's high commissioner to the United Kingdom.
Nathalie Drouin will serve as Canada's ambassador to France and Monaco, ending her term as the person in charge of advising Carney on national security and intelligence issues.
Blair's appointment to London will vacate a seat in his Toronto riding of Scarborough Southwest — the second Toronto seat vacated since Chrystia Freeland's resignation earlier this year — and move Carney another seat away from having a majority government.
The diplomatic appointments fill vacancies previously held by two other political appointees, Stéphane Dion in Paris and Ralph Goodale in London.
Blair's appointment was welcomed by his Parliament Hill colleagues. Conservative foreign affairs critic Michael Chong wished both new envoys success in their postings.
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said Blair commands attention when he enters a room.
"He will have the right profile to position Canada in the United Kingdom at a very critical moment in our relationship," he said.
Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said Drouin and Blair are "exceptional" people, adding he and Blair worked together as MPs representing different parts of Scarborough.
"Bill listens more than he speaks. As a friend, he's given me great advice over the years," he said.
"He will be an exceptional hand, with strong communication skills and someone who will represent Canada in an eminent way."
Blair served as Toronto's police chief before entering politics. He led the Toronto police response to the 2010 G20 protests, where more than 1,100 people were arrested.
Ontario's police watchdog at the time, Gerry McNeilly, issued a report in 2012 saying the Toronto Police Service's security planning was "incomplete and inadequate," that numerous officers used excessive force when making arrests and that the prisoner processing centre was "poorly planned, designed and operated."
Blair has consistently defended the police service's handling of the G20 protest.
Blair was first elected in 2015 in the election that ushered in the era of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Later that year, Blair was named parliamentary secretary to then attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould.
Blair was elevated to cabinet in July 2018 as minister of border security and organized crime prevention.
He moved into the public safety and emergency preparedness portfolio in November 2019.
This made him a key minister during the winter 2022 "Freedom Convoy" protests that saw hundreds of vehicles — including semi trucks — and thousands of people occupy downtown Ottawa for three weeks, and resulted in the government invoking the Emergencies Act for the first time.
Both Blair, as the minister, and Drouin, in her capacity as deputy Privy Council clerk, testified at the Public Order Emergency Commission looking at the government's use of that act, an inquiry which concluded the use of the Emergencies Act was justified.
The Federal Court of Appeal, however, recently upheld a Federal Court decision saying the use of the Act was not reasonable.
Drouin also appeared before the inquiry into foreign electoral interference that ended a year ago.
In 2019, Drouin also testified to the House justice committee as it studied the SNC-Lavalin affair, during which she was the civilian head of the federal Justice Department. She previously held roles in the Quebec civil service.
Blair was named defence minister in July 2023. Much of his tenure was dominated by efforts to support Ukraine with donations of military equipment and training as it fought off a full-scale Russian invasion.
He also led the early implementation of military cultural change recommendations after the Canadian Armed Forces was rocked by allegations of sexual misconduct.
Blair was at the helm of the defence ministry as Canada began a concerted effort to bring its defence spending up to the NATO target of two per cent of GDP.
Drouin most recently was centre stage in Canada's security dialogue with India, which involves a series of high-level discussions to address concerns about transnational repression and organized crime.
As prime minister, Carney visited London and Paris weeks before first visiting Washington.
While Canada and the U.K. are collaborating more in fields like artificial intelligence, they still haven't been able to sign a full trade deal due to a dispute over Britain wanting to export more cheese to Canada, and Ottawa wanting London to accept hormone-treated beef.
France in 2024 voted against ratifying the European Union trade deal with Canada, which remains provisionally in force, and the two have worked to preserve the G7.
Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Patrick Doyle
