The Minister of Foreign Affairs (french: Ministre des Affaires étrangères) is the

minister of the Crown Minister of the Crown is a formal constitutional term used in Commonwealth realms to describe a minister of the reigning sovereign or viceroy. The term indicates that the minister serves at His Majesty's pleasure, and advises the sovereign or ...

in the

Canadian Cabinet The Cabinet of Canada (french: Cabinet du Canada) is a body of ministers of the Crown that, along with the Canadian monarch, and within the tenets of the Westminster system, forms the government of Canada. Chaired by the prime minister, the Ca ...

who is responsible for overseeing the Government of Canada's

international relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...

and is the lead minister responsible for Global Affairs Canada, though the

minister of international trade The Minister of International Trade Diversification () was a minister of the Crown position in the Canadian Cabinet who was responsible for the federal government's international trade portfolio. Along with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and t ...

leads on trade issues. In addition to Global Affairs Canada, the minister is also the lead in overseeing the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development and the International Development Research Centre. From 1909 to 1993, the office was called the Secretary of State for External Affairs. The first two secretaries of state for external affairs, from 1909 until 1912, ( Charles Murphy under Sir

Wilfrid Laurier Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier, ( ; ; November 20, 1841 – February 17, 1919) was a Canadian lawyer, statesman, and politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. The first French Canadian prime minis ...

and William James Roche under Sir Robert Borden) concurrently served as the Secretary of State for Canada. The two portfolios were permanently separated in 1912, and the external affairs portfolio was then held by the

prime minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority the elected Hou ...

until 1946.

History

Ministers holding the external affairs and foreign affairs portfolios have sometimes played prominent international roles: *

Lester B. Pearson Lester Bowles "Mike" Pearson (23 April 1897 – 27 December 1972) was a Canadian scholar, statesman, diplomat, and politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Canada from 1963 to 1968. Born in Newtonbrook, Ontario (now part of ...

(a future prime minister) defused the

Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli war, also called the Tripartite Aggression ( ar, العدوان الثلاثي, Al-ʿUdwān aṯ-Ṯulāṯiyy) in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel,Also known as the Suez War or 1956 Wa ...

and established the United Nations Peacekeeping Forces and as a result received the 1957

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...

. * Joe Clark (a former prime minister) led opposition to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

Apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

system within the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...

, against initial resistance from the British government of

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...

. * Lloyd Axworthy brought about the Ottawa Treaty, banning

anti-personnel landmine Anti-personnel mines are a form of mine designed for use against humans, as opposed to anti-tank mines, which are designed for use against vehicles. Anti-personnel mines may be classified into blast mines or fragmentation mines; the latter may ...

s in most countries of the world. As in Pearson's case (and that of

Louis St. Laurent Louis Stephen St. Laurent (''Saint-Laurent'' or ''St-Laurent'' in French, baptized Louis-Étienne St-Laurent; February 1, 1882 – July 25, 1973) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 12th prime minister of Canada from 19 ...

, his predecessor), the portfolio can be a final stepping stone to the Prime Minister's Office. Until 1946, it was customary for the office to be held by the sitting prime minister.

John Diefenbaker John George Diefenbaker ( ; September 18, 1895 – August 16, 1979) was the 13th prime minister of Canada, serving from 1957 to 1963. He was the only Progressive Conservative party leader between 1930 and 1979 to lead the party to an electio ...

would hold the portfolio on two subsequent occasions.

Prior and subsequent diplomatic services

Lester Pearson is the only minister to have been a diplomat prior to their appointment. Pearson entered the Canadian foreign service in 1927 and rose to become

Canadian ambassador to the United States This is a list of ambassadors of Canada to the United States, formally titled as ''Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United States of America for Her isMajesty's Government in Canada''. Originally, Canada's top diplomatic represe ...

from 1944 to 1946. Paul Martin, Sr. served as

Canadian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom The High Commission of Canada in the United Kingdom (french: Haut-commissariat du Canada au Royaume-Uni) is the List of diplomatic missions of Canada, diplomatic mission of Canada to the United Kingdom. It is housed at Canada House on Trafalgar ...

after his retirement from active politics. Following his defeat in the 2011 election, Lawrence Cannon has served as Canadian ambassador to France since 2012, while Stéphane Dion was named Canadian ambassador to the European Union and Germany immediately after leaving cabinet in 2017. Unlike Pearson, none were career diplomats.

List of ministers

Key:

References

External links

Department of Foreign Affairs: History: IntroductionDepartment of Foreign Affairs Canada
{{CA-Ministers of Foreign Affairs Foreign relations of Canada

Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership organization and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and ...