Prime Minister Mark Carney has named global investment banker and pension fund executive Mark Wiseman as Canada’s next ambassador to the United States, tasking him with leading negotiations on a review of the continental free trade agreement.
Carney’s office said Wiseman will assume the post in Washington on Feb. 15. He will oversee Canada’s role in talks with the United States on the planned review of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).
Wiseman is a longtime friend of Carney and was among the earliest supporters of his successful bid for the Liberal leadership. Records show he donated the maximum $1,750 to Carney’s campaign, as well as another $1,750 to the Liberal Party during the spring election.
He will replace Kirsten Hillman, who announced earlier this month that she would step down, saying a new ambassador would be better positioned to focus on the upcoming trade review.
Wiseman is also a member of the Prime Minister’s Council on Canada-U.S. Relations, a body established by former prime minister Justin Trudeau as Donald Trump was preparing to be sworn in for a second term as U.S. president. While Trudeau did not initially include Wiseman on the council, Carney added him days after being sworn in as prime minister in March.
Born in Niagara Falls, Ont., Wiseman, 55, was raised largely in Burlington. He is the son of a plumber and pipe fitter and a physiotherapist. He holds a joint MBA and law degree from the University of Toronto and clerked for Beverley McLachlin when she served as a judge on the Supreme Court of Canada.
Wiseman began his career as a mergers and acquisitions lawyer with Sullivan & Cromwell, working in New York and later in Paris. He later joined the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, managing equity funds, and went on to run the investment fund of the Canada Pension Plan.
In 2016, he became senior managing director and global head of active equities at BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager. At one point, Wiseman was considered a potential successor to CEO Larry Fink. However, his tenure ended in 2019 after he departed the firm for failing to disclose a consensual relationship with a colleague.
Since then, Wiseman has chaired the Alberta Investment Management Corp. and emerged as a prominent advocate for sustainable investment and the economic benefits of transitioning to a zero-carbon economy.
Wiseman will enter the ambassadorial role with less political and diplomatic experience than any recent Canadian envoy to Washington. His predecessors have included former premiers Gary Doer and Frank McKenna, former federal cabinet minister Michael Wilson, political advisers and campaign managers such as David MacNaughton, and career diplomats including Hillman and Michael Kergin.
Several past ambassadors brought extensive trade-negotiation experience to the role. Hillman was Canada’s lead negotiator for the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, while Wilson helped negotiate both the original Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement and the first version of the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Opposition parties have already criticized Wiseman’s appointment over his role in co-founding the Century Initiative, which advocates increasing Canada’s population to 100 million by 2100.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has described the idea as “radical,” while the Bloc Québécois has warned it could harm Quebec. The Bloc pointed to a social media post Wiseman made two years ago stating that Canada must aim for a population of 100 million “even if it makes Quebec howl.” That post has since been deleted.
Wiseman’s appointment comes as Ottawa prepares for high-stakes trade talks with Washington, placing a seasoned financial executive — but political newcomer — at the centre of Canada’s most important diplomatic relationship.