Francis Joseph McKenna (born January 19, 1948) is a Canadian businessman and former politician and diplomat. He is currently Deputy Chairman of the
Toronto-Dominion Bank. He served as
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 2005 to 2006. He served as the 27th
premier of New Brunswick
The premier of New Brunswick ( French (masculine): ''premier ministre du Nouveau-Brunswick'', or feminine: ''première ministre du Nouveau-Brunswick'') is the first minister and head of government for the Canadian province of New Brunswick.
...
from 1987 to 1997, winning every seat in the province in
his first election.
Early life
McKenna was born one of eight children of Olive and Joseph McKenna in
Apohaqui, New Brunswick
Apohaqui ( ) is an unincorporated community in Kings County, New Brunswick, Canada. It is located on the Kennebecasis River at the confluence of the Millstream River. Apohaqui straddles the Kennebecasis, which is also the Studholm and Sussex par ...
. McKenna was raised in his grandparents' home. They lived adjacent to his parents as his large family could not be wholly housed in his parents' home.
Raised Catholic, after completing Sussex High
School (in
Sussex, New Brunswick
Sussex is a town in Kings County, New Brunswick, Canada.
Sussex is located in south central New Brunswick, between the province's three largest cities, Saint John, Moncton, and Fredericton.
Sussex straddles the Kennebecasis River, northe ...
), he completed a
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six y ...
in Political Science and Economics at
St. Francis Xavier University
St. Francis Xavier University is a public undergraduate liberal arts university located in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is a member of the Maple League, a group of primarily undergraduate universities in Eastern Canada.
History
St. Fr ...
in
Antigonish, Nova Scotia
, settlement_type = Town
, image_skyline = File:St Ninian's Cathedral Antigonish Spring.jpg
, image_caption = St. Ninian's Cathedral
, image_flag = Flag of Antigonish.p ...
. He began
graduate studies at
Queen's University in
Kingston,
Ontario, but after working for a stint with
Allan MacEachen
Allan Joseph MacEachen (July 6, 1921 – September 12, 2017) was a Canadian politician and statesman who served as a senator and several times as a Cabinet minister. He was the first deputy prime minister of Canada and served from 1977 to 1979 ...
, he took MacEachen's advice that most politicians are lawyers and enrolled in law school at the
University of New Brunswick (Fredericton).
After earning a law degree, he moved to
Chatham and began practicing law. He garnered a place in contemporary
Acadian
The Acadians (french: Acadiens , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Most Acadians live in the region of Acadia, as it is the region where the des ...
folklore as the defence lawyer in the high-profile widely publicized murder case of famous New Brunswick boxing champion,
Yvon Durelle
Yvon Durelle (October 14, 1929 – January 6, 2007), was a Canadian champion boxer. He was of Acadian descent.
Early life
From a family of fourteen children, Yvon Durelle grew up in Baie-Ste-Anne, a small Acadian fishing village on Miramic ...
.
New Brunswick politics
A few years later, he entered provincial politics and won a seat in the
Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick
A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government.
Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...
in the
1982 election to represent
Chatham, New Brunswick. He became leader of the provincial
Liberals in 1985, and won one of the largest electoral victories in
Canadian history
The history of Canada covers the period from the arrival of the Paleo-Indians to North America thousands of years ago to the present day. Prior to European colonization, the lands encompassing present-day Canada were inhabited for millennia by ...
in the
1987 election when his party won every seat in the
legislature.
McKenna's term in office was viewed mostly as a success. His key priority throughout his term was job creation and he was known to say that the "best
social program
Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...
we have is a job." He encouraged small business growth and tried to entice large companies to invest in the province with tax incentives, often directly calling individual professionals to urge them to bring their talents to New Brunswick. Another of his strategies was to raise the collective
self-confidence
Confidence is a state of being clear-headed either that a hypothesis or prediction is correct or that a chosen course of action is the best or most effective. Confidence comes from a Latin word 'fidere' which means "to trust"; therefore, having ...
of New Brunswickers, which he believed would increase productivity. He introduced a sophisticated
public relations operation which included the use of controversial
video news releases.
McKenna's time as premier, however, also saw some controversy. In his first move as premier, McKenna dismissed several senior public servants in an effort to gain greater control over the province's public service, which some observers perceived as a drastic step away from the integrity of the province's impartial and professional public service.
McKenna was also criticized for increasing the number of communications personnel on the government payroll but countered this complaint by pointing out that the primary government communications agency, Communications New Brunswick, had been depoliticized.
He was also criticized for creating a
toll free
A toll-free telephone number or freephone number is a telephone number that is billed for all arriving calls. For the calling party, a call to a toll-free number from a landline is free of charge. A toll-free number is identified by a dialing prefi ...
telephone number to the
premier's office which had the number 1-800-MCKENNA, the number was functional throughout
North America and was used for both New Brunswick constituents and business interests that were considering moving to the province.
Believing ten years was long enough for a premier to hold office, and having pledged to serve such a term when first elected, McKenna resigned in 1997 – 10 years to the day of the
1987 election.
Business career
After leaving office, McKenna moved to
Cap-Pélé, New Brunswick, near
Moncton, and returned to the practice of law and sat on numerous corporate boards. He also purchased (with his son, James McKenna), Glenwood Kitchen Ltd., a manufacturer of high-end custom cabinetry in
Shediac, New Brunswick
Shediac (official in both languages; ''Shédiac'' is colloquial French) is a heavily Acadian town in Westmorland County, New Brunswick. The town is home to the famous Parlee Beach and is known as the "Lobster Capital of the World". It hosts a ...
. His membership on the Canadian advisory board of the
Carlyle Group
The Carlyle Group is a multinational private equity, alternative asset management and financial services corporation based in the United States with $376 billion of assets under management. It specializes in private equity, real assets, and pri ...
drew adverse media attention; the media ceased pursuing the issue when McKenna explained that the board was established to advise on a Canadian investment fund that the group never created and that the board had never become active.
Following the announcement of his appointment as Canadian ambassador to Washington, he resigned his position as counsel at law firms including
McInnes Cooper and
Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt, as well as all positions on corporate boards including his role as interim
chairman of the board
The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...
of
CanWest Global Communications, a post he assumed upon the death of its founder and chairman
Israel Asper.
Ambassador
McKenna was mentioned as a possible
Ambassador to the US to succeed
Michael Kergin after
Paul Martin
Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006.
The son of ...
took power. Speculation increased after
John Manley
John Paul Manley (born January 5, 1950) is a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the eighth deputy prime minister of Canada from 2002 to 2003. He served as Liberal Member of Parliament for Ottawa South from 1988 to ...
turned down Prime Minister Martin's offer. Many in the press commented on McKenna's business connections being an asset, notably as a member of the
Carlyle Group
The Carlyle Group is a multinational private equity, alternative asset management and financial services corporation based in the United States with $376 billion of assets under management. It specializes in private equity, real assets, and pri ...
and his friendship with former President
George H. W. Bush.
On January 5, 2005, Prime Minister Paul Martin's office confirmed that McKenna would be the 21st Ambassador to the United States. On January 14, the posting was formally announced and would be effective on March 1. McKenna became the Ambassador on March 8 when
U.S. President George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
accepted his credentials.
On February 22, 2005, McKenna told reporters Canada was already a part of the U.S.
National Missile Defense
National missile defense (NMD) is a generic term for a type of missile defense intended to shield an entire country against incoming missiles, such as intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBMs) or other ballistic missiles.
This is also used ...
(NMD) (or Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD)) program through an amendment to the
NORAD agreement made on August 5, 2004, which granted U.S. access to NORAD's missile warning systems explicitly for use in NMD. However, Martin contradicted this two days later when he announced that Canada would not formally participate in the NMD program but focus on other items of shared defence/security interest. While
Canadian defence minister Bill Graham said McKenna was simply misunderstood (as the NORAD agreement and missile defence are separate), this initial contradiction was interpreted by others as evidence of characteristic indecision by the Martin government and was seen to somewhat hamper McKenna's credibility.
As Ambassador, McKenna attracted more media attention than most of his recent predecessors on both sides of the border. In the U.S., his message was one of dispelling common
urban legends
An urban legend (sometimes contemporary legend, modern legend, urban myth, or urban tale) is a genre of folklore comprising stories or fallacious claims circulated as true, especially as having happened to a "friend of a friend" or a family ...
and misconceptions about Canada, while in Canada he urged Canadians to be more understanding of the American people and culture, particularly following what he argued is their understandable sensitivity after the
September 11, 2001 attacks.
McKenna generated controversy after giving a luncheon speech on September 29, 2005, to a
Toronto business club. McKenna blasted the U.S. bureaucracy and
Congressional system
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...
of government saying "the government of the United States is in large measure dysfunctional." He contrasted it with Canada's government, and praised Canada's strong parliamentary
party discipline
Party discipline is a system of political norms, rules and subsequent respective consequences for deviance that are designed to ensure the relative cohesion of members of the respective party group. In political parties specifically (often refe ...
as being much more "efficient" though sometimes less preferable.
On January 25, 2006, McKenna offered his resignation as Ambassador, writing to Prime Minister-designate
Stephen Harper that he wished to be relieved of his duties, but offering to stay on until his successor is chosen. He was succeeded as ambassador by
Michael Wilson on March 13, 2006.
Prospective career in federal politics
Since leaving politics in 1997, McKenna served for a brief time on the
Security Intelligence Review Committee
The Security Intelligence Review Committee (SIRC; french: Comité de surveillance des activités de renseignement de sécurité) was a committee of Privy Councillors that was empowered to serve as an independent oversight and review body for the o ...
. He has been touted several times as a potential
Atlantic Canadian
Atlantic Canada, also called the Atlantic provinces (french: provinces de l'Atlantique), is the region of Eastern Canada comprising the provinces located on the Atlantic coast, excluding Quebec. The four provinces are New Brunswick, Newfoundlan ...
minister in the cabinets of
Jean Chrétien
Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003.
Born and raised in Shawinigan Falls, Quebec, Chrétien is a law graduate from Uni ...
and
Paul Martin
Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006.
The son of ...
. He expressed some interest in running in the
2004 federal election but announced he would not do so because of the lack of an available
riding in the
Moncton, New Brunswick, area. He did not want to push aside any incumbent Liberal member of Parliament.
After resigning the premiership of New Brunswick, McKenna was identified as a potential future leader of the
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' ...
, and
Prime Minister of Canada. A poll released on August 23, 2005, commissioned by the ''
Toronto Star'', showed that McKenna was the top choice of the public to succeed Prime Minister Paul Martin. Among the general public, McKenna beat former
New Democratic Party Ontario Premier
The premier of Ontario (french: premier ministre de l'Ontario) is the head of government of Ontario. Under the Westminster system, the premier governs with the confidence of a majority the elected Legislative Assembly; as such, the premier typi ...
Bob Rae
Robert Keith Rae (born August 2, 1948) is a Canadian diplomat and former politician who is the current Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations since 2020. He previously served as the 21st premier of Ontario from 1990 to 1995, leader of the ...
by a margin of 23 to 11 while among self-identified Liberals, McKenna beat former
Deputy Prime Minister of Canada John Manley
John Paul Manley (born January 5, 1950) is a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the eighth deputy prime minister of Canada from 2002 to 2003. He served as Liberal Member of Parliament for Ottawa South from 1988 to ...
by a margin of 28 to 13. The October 2005 issue of ''
Saturday Night'' magazine had pollster
Darrell Bricker
Darrell Bricker is a Canadian author, pollster, public speaker, political scientist and political commentator.
Profession
Pollster
Bricker is the current Global CEO of Ipsos Public Affairs, a polling, research, marketing, and analysis company.
...
and Liberal strategist
Warren Kinsella
Warren James Kinsella (born August 1960) is a Canadian lawyer, author, musician, political consultant, and commentator. Kinsella has written commentary in most of Canada's major newspapers and several magazines, including ''The Globe and Mail' ...
create
odds for potential Liberal leadership candidates. They made McKenna the favourite with 7 to 2 odds beating
Scott Brison
Scott A. Brison (born May 10, 1967) is a Canadian former politician from Nova Scotia. Brison served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the riding of Kings-Hants from the 1997 federal election until July 2000, then from November 2000 to Febru ...
(8 to 1),
Martin Cauchon
Martin Cauchon, (born August 23, 1962) is a Canadian lawyer and politician in Quebec Canada. He is a former Liberal Cabinet Minister in the government of Jean Chrétien. He is married to Dorine Perron and together, they have three children : ...
(10 to 1),
Michael Ignatieff and
John Manley
John Paul Manley (born January 5, 1950) is a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the eighth deputy prime minister of Canada from 2002 to 2003. He served as Liberal Member of Parliament for Ottawa South from 1988 to ...
(each 15 to 1) among others.
On January 30, 2006, McKenna confirmed earlier reports that he was not running for the
Liberal leadership to replace Paul Martin, who announced his resignation as party leader on the January 23, 2006 election night. McKenna acknowledged the strength of the Liberal brand stating: "You've got pretty good odds of being the prime minister if you're the leader of the Liberal party" – every leader of the Liberal party since Sir
Wilfrid Laurier in 1896 had become prime minister. However, he put an end to his involvement in the 2006 Liberal Party leadership race, explaining his decision by saying that he did not want "his life to become consumed by politics." and that: "I reminded myself of my vow upon leaving office that, having escaped the trap, I wouldn’t go back for the cheese."
Following
Stéphane Dion's resignation as federal Liberal leader after the
2008 election
This electoral calendar 2008 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2008 in the de jure and de facto sovereign states and their dependent territories. Referendums are included, even though they are not elections. By-elections are ...
, McKenna was once again touted as a possibility to take the helm of the federal Liberal Party. However, on October 28, 2008, McKenna said that he would not be seeking the leadership, saying "Although I have been deeply moved by expressions of support for me from across the country, I have not been persuaded to change my long-standing resolve to exit public life for good," and
"My only regret is that I cannot honour the expectations of friends and supporters who have shown enormous loyalty to me."
Banking
McKenna was appointed as Deputy Chair,
TD Bank Financial Group
Toronto-Dominion Bank (french: links=no, Banque Toronto-Dominion), doing business as TD Bank Group (french: links=no, Groupe Banque TD), is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. T ...
effective May 1, 2006. McKenna was appointed to the board of
Brookfield Asset Management
Brookfield Asset Management Inc. is a Canadian multinational company that is one of the world's largest alternative investment management companies, with over US$725 billion of assets under management in 2022. It focuses on direct contr ...
effective August 2006, and subsequently Chair of the Board since August 2010.
McKenna is referenced in the book ''Clinton Cash'' by Peter Schweizer. The majority of the reference is regarding the
Keystone Pipeline
The Keystone Pipeline System is an oil pipeline system in Canada and the United States, commissioned in 2010 and owned by TC Energy and as of 31 March 2020 the Government of Alberta. It runs from the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin in Albert ...
decision-making process. Hillary Clinton serving as secretary of State in the United States, and the monetary involvement with TD Bank in Canada is described in depth. The book describes TD Bank, with McKenna as vice chairman, as having ''"paid Bill more than any other financial institution for Lectures. More than
Goldman Sachs, UBS, JPMorgan, or anyone on Wall Street."'' Quoting from the book, ''"TD Bank paid Bill $1.8 million for ten speeches over a roughly two-and-half-year period from late 2008 to mid-2011. ... At several of the speeches, (Bill) Clinton was introduced or interviewed by TD Bank vice chairman Frank McKenna. Frank McKenna is described as a 'good friend of both
Bill
Bill(s) may refer to:
Common meanings
* Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States)
* Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature
* Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer
* Bill, a bird or animal's beak
Pla ...
and
Hillary Clinton.'"''
Distinctions
*
Queen's Privy Council for Canada
The 's Privy Council for Canada (french: Conseil privé du Roi pour le Canada),) during the reign of a queen. sometimes called Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council (PC), is the full group of personal consultants to the ...
(1999)
References
Further reading
*Philip Lee, ''Frank: The Life and Politics of Frank McKenna'', Goose Lane, 2001.
External links
McKenna's letter of resignation, dfait-maeci.gc.ca/ca
Frank McKenna Biography TD.com
Frank McKenna Biography — Legislative assembly of New - Brunswick gnb.ca
Liberal Party of New Brunswick website nbliberal.ca
{{DEFAULTSORT:McKenna, Frank
1948 births
Ambassadors of Canada to the United States
Canadian bankers
Canadian corporate directors
Canadian monarchists
Canadian King's Counsel
The Carlyle Group people
Directors of Toronto-Dominion Bank
Lawyers in New Brunswick
Living people
Members of the Order of New Brunswick
Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada
New Brunswick Liberal Association MLAs
New Brunswick Liberal Association leaders
Officers of the Order of Canada
People from Kings County, New Brunswick
People from Miramichi, New Brunswick
Premiers of New Brunswick
St. Francis Xavier University alumni
University of New Brunswick alumni
University of New Brunswick Faculty of Law alumni