Jennifer May appointed Canada’s new ambassador to China, after nine months without envoy

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has named Jennifer May as Canada’s new ambassador to China, filling a nearly year-long vacancy in the key diplomatic post.

The government announced May’s appointment on Friday, after sources told CTV News and other outlets on Thursday that the Mandarin-speaking May had been selected to take office and that China had approved of Canada’s choice.

Upon assuming this new role, she will become Canada’s leader in managing a strained relationship with China and will be responsible for promoting trade and economic ties between the two countries, as well as “upholding democratic values, human rights and the rule of law,” according to the statement from Trudeau’s office.

May, who until August was Canada’s ambassador to Brazil, joined Canada’s foreign affairs department more than 30 years ago. Throughout her career, May has held a number of positions, including executive director of defense and security relations, director of relations with Eastern Europe and Eurasia, and has worked in Bonn, Hong Kong, Beijing, Vienna, Bangkok and Berlin.

“A dedicated public servant, Ms. May’s many years of diverse experience in international missions and her deep knowledge of Asia will serve to manage this important bilateral relationship and advance Canadian interests in China,” Trudeau said in the statement.

Canada has been without an ambassador to China since late 2021, when Dominic Barton moved from the Beijing offices.

Canada has an embassy in Beijing, as well as consulates general in Chongqing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, and Shanghai.

Asked a few months ago by CTV News what the delay was when Canada hit the six-month mark without an ambassador, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly’s office promised a representative would be appointed in “due time,” saying that officials continued to interact with China. at the “higher levels”.

At the time, former ambassador to China Guy Saint-Jacques said the notable absence was an indication that the federal government “doesn’t understand” the value of a strong diplomatic presence on the ground.

“Having an ambassador gives you intelligence…because there is a person here who can have access to high-level information.” [information] that other people in the embassy can’t,” he said. “You’re depriving yourself of all that useful information.”

Barton publicly announced his resignation on December 6, 2021, just months after helping secure the release of former diplomat and businessman Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor.

The two men were arbitrarily arrested and held in a Chinese jail for more than 1,000 days. Their arrests are seen as retaliation for the Vancouver arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou on an extradition request from the United States.

Those events launched what would become nearly three years of icy relations between Canada and China.

May’s appointment comes just before Canada marks the first anniversary of the release of the two Michaels.

It was late at night on September 24, 2021, when Trudeau made a national address, announcing that Kovrig and Spavor had boarded a plane in China with Barton, and “are on their way home.”


With files from CTV National News Ottawa Bureau Chief Joyce Napier, CTV National News Producer Mackenzie Gray, and CTVNews.ca Producer Sarah Turnbull.

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