John Short Larke (May 28, 1840 – April 24, 1910) was Canada's first trade commissioner who represented the country in Australia starting in 1895.

Biography

John Short Larke was born near Stratton,

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, England, UK. At the age of four, he arrived in Oshawa, Ontario with his parents. Between 1865 and 1878, Larke bought out the owners of the ''Oshawa Vindicator,'' becoming the sole proprietor of a strongly pro-Conservative newspaper in

Oshawa Oshawa ( , also ; 2021 population 175,383; CMA 415,311) is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario, approximately east of Downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of the G ...

, Ontario. In 1894, Larke became Canada's first trade commissioner following a successful trade delegation to Australia led by Canada's first Minister of Trade and Commerce,

Mackenzie Bowell Sir Mackenzie Bowell (; December 27, 1823 – December 10, 1917) was a Canadian newspaper publisher and politician, who served as the fifth prime minister of Canada, in office from 1894 to 1896. Bowell was born in Rickinghall, Suffolk, En ...

. Arriving in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

in 1895, Larke was tasked with developing the market for Canadian products in Australia, developing a list of Canadian suppliers for promoting sales to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, and reporting back to

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

regarding market conditions. During Larke’s years as a Trade Commissioner, th
Canadian Trade Commissioner Service
expanded from one man to twenty-one, representing Canada in sixteen countries.Canada’s First Trade Commissioner
Today, the

Trade Commissioner Service Part of Global Affairs Canada, the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service (TCS) is a network of more than 1000 trade professionals working in Canadian embassies, high commissions, and consulates located in 161 cities around the world and with office ...

, part of the

Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada Global Affairs Canada (GAC; french: Affaires mondiales Canada; AMC)''Global Affairs Canada'' is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (). is the department o ...

, operates over 150 offices in over 100 countries around the world.

References

External links

Speech made J. S. Larke, to the Empire Club of Canada (1905), entitled "Australia: Political and General Conditions"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Larke, John Short 1840 births 1910 deaths People from Stratton, Cornwall Canadian diplomats English emigrants to Canada