The high commissioner of the United Kingdom to Canada is the United Kingdom's foremost

diplomatic representative Diplomacy comprises spoken or written communication by representatives of states (such as leaders and diplomats) intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. 1 ...

in Canada and is in charge of the British diplomatic mission to Canada. As fellow members of 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 ...

, diplomatic relations between the United Kingdom and Canada are at governmental level, rather than between

heads of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 "he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and le ...

, sharing the same

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

. Thus, the countries exchange High Commissioners, rather than

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

s. The offices of the

British High Commission A British High Commission is a British diplomatic mission, equivalent to an embassy, found in countries that are members of the Commonwealth of Nations. Their general purpose is to provide diplomatic relationships as well as travel information, ...

are at 80 Elgin Street in

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 ...

, which was built in 1964 on the site of the old Grand Union Hotel. The British High Commissioner's residence is

Earnscliffe Earnscliffe is a Victorian manor in Ottawa, Ontario, built in the Gothic Revival style. During the late 19th century, it was home to Canada's first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald. Since 1930, it has served as the residence of the Brit ...

in Ottawa on Sussex Drive. The house was built in 1855, was later occupied by Canada's first prime minister,

John A. Macdonald Sir John Alexander Macdonald (January 10 or 11, 1815 – June 6, 1891) was the first prime minister of Canada, serving from 1867 to 1873 and from 1878 to 1891. The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, he had a political career that sp ...

, and was bought in 1930 by the first British High Commissioner to Canada, Sir William Clark. The incumbent high commissioner is Susannah Goshko, who assumed the office in September 2021.

List of heads of mission

High Commissioners to Canada

* 1928–1934: Sir William Clark * 1934–1938: Sir Francis Floud * 1938–1941: Sir Gerald Campbell * 1941–1946:

Malcolm MacDonald Malcolm Ian Macdonald (born 7 January 1950) is an English former professional footballer, manager and media figure. Nicknamed 'Supermac', Macdonald was a quick, powerfully built prolific goalscorer. He played for Fulham, Luton Town, Newcastle U ...

* 1946–1952: Sir Alexander Clutterbuck * 1952–1956: Sir Archibald Nye * 1956–1961: Sir Saville Garner * 1961–1963: The Viscount Amory * 1963–1968: Sir Henry Lintott * 1968–1970: Sir Colin Crowe * 1970–1974: Sir Peter Hayman * 1974–1978: Sir John Johnston * 1978–1981: Sir John Ford * 1981–1984: The Lord Moran * 1984–1987: Sir Derek Day * 1987–1989:

Sir Alan Urwick Sir Alan Bedford Urwick (2 May 1930 – 8 December 2016) was a British diplomat, who served as Serjeant-at-Arms of the House of Commons from 1989 to 1995. Early life Alan Bedford Urwick was born on 2 May 1930, in London. He was the young ...

* 1989–1992: Sir Brian Fall * 1992–1996: Sir Nicholas Bayne * 1996–2000: Sir Anthony Goodenough * 2000–2003: Sir Andrew Burns * 2003–2006:

David Reddaway Sir David Norman Reddaway (born 26 April 1953) is Chief Executive and Clerk of the Goldsmiths' Company in the City of London. He is a retired British diplomat who was High Commissioner to Canada and Ambassador to Ireland and Turkey. Career Re ...

* 2006–2011: Anthony Cary * 2011–2012:

Andrew Pocock Sir Andrew John Pocock (born 23 August 1955) is a British former diplomat who was High Commissioner to Nigeria and Permanent Representative to ECOWAS 2012–15. Early life and education Born in Trinidad and Tobago to John and Vida Pocock, And ...

* 2012–2013:

Corin Robertson Corin Robertson (born 15 January 1972) is a British diplomat. She has previously served as British Ambassador to Mexico between 2018 and 2021, the Director of Estates and Security between 2014 and 2017 and the Deputy Head of Mission to the Britis ...

''(acting)'' * 2013–2017: Howard Drake * 2017–2021: Susan le Jeune d'Allegeershecque *–present: Susannah Goshko

References

External links

British High Commission Ottawa
{{Lists of heads of UK diplomatic missions

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Canada and the Commonwealth of Nations United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations

List of heads of mission

High Commissioners to Canada

See also

References

External links