Carney names ex-Blackrock executive Mark Wiseman as new US ambassador
Prime Minister Mark Carney has named financier and former BlackRock executive Mark Wiseman as Canada’s ambassador to the United States, ahead of major trade negotiations with the Trump administration.
Wiseman, an experienced investment manager, takes on the task as Canada works to repair its strained relationship with the United States while preparing for a tense review of the current free trade agreement.
Her appointment follows current Ambassador Kirsten Hillman’s announcement to end her mandate in Washington.
Carney said Wiseman “brings immense experience, extensive contacts and deep commitment” to the position at a “crucial transformative moment” for Canada and the United States.
“As a key member of our negotiating team, he will help advance the interests of Canadian workers, businesses and institutions, while creating opportunities for Canada and the United States,” the prime minister said in a statement Monday.
The new ambassador is expected to take office in mid-February, Carney added.
Wiseman, 55, who is said to be a close friend of Carney, is currently a senior advisor and president of Canada at Lazard, a financial services company, and a senior advisor at Boston Consulting Group, a consulting firm.
In March, Carney added him as a member of the Prime Minister’s Council on Canada-U.S. Relations, a group formed to manage the currently turbulent bilateral relationship.
Yale alumni also worked in New York and Paris as attorneys with the law firm Sullivan & Cromwell.
He is one of the co-founders of the Century Initiative, a charity that has lobbied to increase immigration levels in Canada, with the aim of reaching 100 million people in the country by 2100 to support economic growth.
The role within the Century Initiative attracted criticism before his appointment.
Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre accused Wiseman of being “someone who has proposed a policy that inflates the cost of living, cuts jobs and puts pressure on our health care system.”
“Why does the Prime Minister want to appoint him ambassador to Washington?”
Beyond domestic politics, Wiseman will confront the currently thorny relations between the United States and Canada during his stay in Washington.
Trump halted trade talks with Canada in late October due to anger over an anti-tariff ad commissioned by the province of Ontario and broadcast in the United States.
Trump imposed sector-specific tariffs on Canadian metals, lumber and automobiles.
It also imposed a 35% tariff rate on all products, even though most were exempted under the Canada-United States-Mexico (CUSMA) trade agreement – known as USMCA in the United States –.
A planned review of CUSMA is currently underway, beginning with public hearings and stakeholder consultations, after which Canada, the United States and Mexico could agree to renew it or let it expire.
