Canada appoints new High Commissioner in UK

A new High Commissioner for Canada in the United Kingdom has been appointed.

Ralph Goodale (pictured) has assumed responsibilities as the Canadian High Commissioner in London - his latest post in a long and distinguished career.

Raised on a family farm near Wilcox, Saskatchewan, Mr Goodale received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Regina in 1971, and a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Saskatchewan in 1972.

He has practical experience in business, law, agriculture and broadcasting, as well as federal and provincial politics.

Mr Goodale was first elected to the Parliament of Canada in 1974 at the age of 24, representing Saskatchewan 's sprawling rural riding of Assiniboia.

In the 1980s, he served as leader of the provincial Liberal Party, and was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan in 1986.

Mr Goodale returned to the House of Commons in 1993 as the Member of Parliament for Wascana, and was subsequently re-elected seven consecutive times, becoming Regina 's longest-serving MP.

A member of the federal Cabinet under three Prime Ministers, he was appointed Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food (1993-1997), Minister of Natural Resources (1997-2002), Leader of the Government in the House of Commons (2002), Minister of Public Works and Government Services (2002-2003), Minister of Finance (2003-2006), and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness (2015-2019).

In March 2020, Mr Goodale became a special advisor to the Prime Minister for Canada 's response to Iran 's shooting down of Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752, which claimed the lives of 55 Canadian citizens, 30 permanent residents of Canada and dozens of others with Canadian links.

This role is on-going in pursuit of transparency, accountability and justice for the families of the victims.

His appointment has been welcomed by the Greater Birmingham Transatlantic Chamber of Commerce.

Mandy Haque, the Chamber 's international director, said: “We welcome Ralph Goodale 's appointment and look forward to working with him as part of our ongoing drive to encourage trade between UK businesses and those in Canada.

“The UK has a strong trading relationship with Canada and it is set to become even more important over the coming years with the two countries ready to began negotiations for an upgraded comprehensive trade deal and the UK applying to join the CPTPP trade agreement. ”