List of High Commissioners of Australia to Canada

Last updated

High Commissioner of Australia to Canada
Coat of Arms of Australia.svg
Scott Ryan, official portrait as Australian High Commissioner to Canada (2021).png
Incumbent
Scott Ryan
since 20 December 2021
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Style His Excellency
Reports to Minister for Foreign Affairs
Residence Australia House, Sandy Hill, Ottawa
Nominator Prime Minister of Australia
Appointer Governor General of Australia
Inaugural holder Sir Thomas Glasgow
Formation23 December 1939
Website Australian High Commission, Canada
Australia House, the official residence of the high commissioner since 1940. Australia House, Ottawa.JPG
Australia House, the official residence of the high commissioner since 1940.
The Sun Life Financial Centre at 50 O'Connor Street, Ottawa, location of the High Commission Chancery since 1989. Sun Life Financial Centre Ottawa - 03.jpg
The Sun Life Financial Centre at 50 O'Connor Street, Ottawa, location of the High Commission Chancery since 1989.

The high commissioner of Australia to Canada is an officer of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the head of the High Commission of the Commonwealth of Australia to Canada. The Australian High Commission also has responsibility for relations with Bermuda, a self-governing Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom. The position has the rank and status of an ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary and is currently held by former senator Scott Ryan since 20 December 2021. [1] [2]

Contents

Australia and Canada have enjoyed official diplomatic relations since 12 September 1939, when high commissioners were first exchanged as Australia's second independent diplomatic posting established from 29 March 1940, with only the High Commission in London (1910) being older. As fellow Dominion countries, Australia and Canada had many prior contacts, particularly in trade, and continue to share a monarch as Commonwealth realms. The High Commissioner's Official Residence is located at Australia House, Ottawa, while the Chancery is located at the Sun Life Financial Centre, Suite 1301, 50 O'Connor Street, in Downtown Ottawa. The work of the High Commission is also supported by a Consulate-General in Toronto and an Honorary Consulate in Vancouver, which are run by Austrade.

Posting history

Formal diplomatic relations between Australia and Canada formally began on 12 September 1939 when the two countries agreed to exchange high commissioners. [3] [4] Australian representation in Canada prior to this was limited to a Trade Commissioner post with a focus on promoting trade, with Rupert Haynes, an Australian businessman connected to the South Australian fruit industry, appointed by the Minister for Markets and Transport as the first "Commercial Representative for the Commonwealth of Australia in the Dominion of Canada" on 1 April 1929. [5] [6] [7] Haynes was recalled on 15 March 1930, and was later replaced by Lewis Richard Macgregor, who served until May 1938. [8] [9]

The first Canadian high commissioner, Charles Jost Burchell, was appointed on 3 November 1939 and arrived in Australia on 27 December 1939. [10] [11] On 23 December 1939, Prime Minister Robert Menzies announced the appointment of Sir Thomas Glasgow as the first Australian high commissioner. [12] [13] Glasgow arrived in Ottawa on 29 March 1940. [14] [15]

From 7 January 1974 to 1975, the high commissioner had non-resident accreditation for Barbados, when it was transferred to the high commissioner in Jamaica. [2]

High commissioners

#OfficeholderTerm start dateTerm end dateTime in officeNotes
1 Sir Thomas Glasgow 23 December 193916 January 19455 years, 24 days [12] [14] [16]
William Roy Hodgson (Acting)16 January 194524 July 1945189 days [17] [18] [19]
2 Alfred Stirling 24 July 19451 November 19461 year, 100 days [20] [21]
3 Frank Forde 1 November 194614 May 19536 years, 194 days [22] [23] [24] [25]
4 Sir Douglas Copland 20 May 195310 July 19563 years, 51 days [26] [27] [28] [29]
Trevor Pyman (Acting)10 July 195631 January 1957205 days [30]
5 Walter Crocker 31 January 19573 September 19581 year, 215 days [31] [32]
Frederick Thomas Homer (Acting)3 September 195811 March 1959189 days [33]
6 Sir Walter Cawthorn 11 March 19592 May 19601 year, 52 days [34] [35]
Kieren Desmond (Acting)2 May 19606 May 19611 year, 4 days [36]
7 David Hay 7 May 196116 July 19643 years, 70 days [37] [38]
8 Sir Kenneth Bailey 17 July 19647 May 19694 years, 294 days [39] [40]
W. Kevin Flanagan (Acting)7 May 19691 August 196986 days [41]
9 David McNicol 2 August 1969April 19733 years, 7 months [42] [43]
10 James Ingram June 1973December 19741 year, 6 months [44] [45]
11Max LovedayJanuary 1975November 19772 years, 10 months [46]
12 John Ryan November 1977April 19802 years, 5 months [47]
13 Barrie Dexter April 1980September 19833 years, 5 months [48]
14 Rowen Osborn September 1983May 19851 year, 8 months [49]
15Robert LaurieMay 1985April 19893 years, 11 months [50]
16James HumphriesApril 1989May 19912 years, 1 month [51]
17David SpencerMay 1991July 19932 years, 2 months [52]
18Frank MurrayJuly 1993May 19973 years, 10 months [53]
19Gregory WoodMay 1997July 20014 years, 2 months [54]
20Tony HelyJuly 2001February 20053 years, 7 months [55]
21William FisherFebruary 2005November 20083 years, 9 months [56]
22 Justin Brown November 2008December 20113 years, 1 month [57] [58]
23 Louise Hand January 201214 January 20153 years [59] [60]
24 Tony Negus 15 January 201530 November 20172 years, 319 days [61]
25 Natasha Smith 30 November 201720 December 20214 years, 20 days [62]
26 Scott Ryan 20 December 2021incumbent1 year, 231 days [1]

Consulates

LocationOpen Consular district
High Commission, Ottawa1939 New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario (excluding Greater Toronto Area), Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Bermuda
Consulate-General, Toronto 1975 Greater Toronto Area
Honorary Consulate, Vancouver 1975 Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Saskatchewan, Yukon Territory

The work of the high commission is supported by a consulate-general in Toronto, which has been operated by the Australian Trade Commission (now Austrade) since 1929, and was upgraded to a consulate-general in 1975. [63] [64] The Honorary Consulate in Vancouver was originally established in 1947 as a Trade Commission and also upgraded to a consulate in 1975. [65] [64] There was also previously a consulate-general in Montreal from 1975 to its closure in 1976, having previously operated as a Trade Commission only since 1953. [64] [66]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian Consulate-General, Noumea</span>

The Australian Consulate-General in Noumea, New Caledonia represents the Commonwealth of Australia in New Caledonia, a special collectivity of France, and is also accredited to the Pacific French Overseas collectivity of Wallis and Futuna. The Consul-General also serves as Australia's representative to the Noumea-based Pacific Community. The Consulate-General, one of four in New Caledonia, has since 1976 had its offices at 19 avenue du Maréchal Foch, Nouméa.

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