Ex-MP Cuzner named consul general in Boston

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is sending former Liberal MP Rodger Cuzner to represent Canada as the country's consul general in Boston.

Cuzner was an MP for Cape Breton for nearly 20 years but quit politics before the last federal election in 2019.

A consulate general is a major diplomatic outpost, subordinate only to the main embassy in a foreign capital.

They're mostly led by career diplomats but prominent former politicians such as former prime minister Kim Campbell and ex-NDP MP Joe Comartin have been tapped as well.

The Boston consulate general serves Canadians in the northeastern United States and maintains relations with regional figures like state governors and business leaders.

Cuzner succeeds David Alward, a former premier of New Brunswick.