Mark Wiseman, pictured in 2017, has worked in legal and commerce jobs in New York and Paris, as chair of the Alberta Investment Management Corporation and as president and CEO of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.Mike Segar/Reuters
Mark Wiseman, who is expected to become Canada’s new ambassador to Washington, is a rarity. The financier and corporate executive would be the first in the 100-year history of the position to be appointed without any experience as a diplomat or high-powered politician.
In this respect, he’s uniquely unqualified. For Prime Minister Mark Carney to put a rookie in the job – instead of an experienced political hand, like a Jean Charest – at one of the most fraught times in the Canada-U.S. relationship is a gamble.
As outgoing Ambassador Kirsten Hillman says, the new envoy will have to work to build bridges with the White House, with senior cabinet secretaries and with congressional leaders. That takes time, especially given Mr. Wiseman’s starting point.
But his lack of formal and normal experience for the job was just what was said about his good friend Mr. Carney when he became the first person to become prime minister without experience as an elected politician. And how did that turn out? It hasn’t hurt him. Mr. Carney’s been sure-footed, his far-reaching experience in business circles and on the global stage holding him in good stead.
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The 55-year-old Mr. Wiseman, a close friend of the Prime Minister’s, has wide-ranging business and finance chops as well, having worked in big legal and commerce jobs in New York and Paris, as chair of the Alberta Investment Management Corporation and as president and CEO of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.
Though without a diplomatic background, he has served on Mr. Carney’s council of advisers on Canada-U.S. relations since March. He likely knew he could be the next ambassador and so has been preparing over the months for the position.
He is said to have a lot of Mr. Carney’s savvy and will have the advantage of a close personal relationship with the PM, allowing him to be instantly in touch. Jean Chrétien appointed his nephew, Raymond Chrétien, to the post. Brian Mulroney appointed his chief of staff Derek Burney.
Mr. Wiseman would step into the role with the bilateral trade relationship hanging in the balance. Tariff bully Donald Trump could decide to cancel a scheduled renegotiation of the USMCA and continue to afflict this country with punishing levies.
But for several reasons, Ottawa’s chances of avoiding worst-cases scenarios are brightening. Unlike Justin Trudeau, Mr. Carney has a relatively warm relationship with Mr. Trump. The U.S. President’s high tariffs are not popular with the American public, a fact he has to bear in mind with midterm elections 10 months away. He also faces the possibility of his tariff regime being ruled illegal in a Supreme Court decision expected next month.
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Yet another positive sign is that U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra, who has been badmouthing Canada, changed his tune this week in saying the U.S. feels very encouraged by the energy deal struck between Mr. Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, as it will probably lead to an increase in oil exports to the U.S.
Mr. Hoekstra also had high praise for Ms. Hillman’s work as ambassador. There were doubts when Mr. Trudeau appointed her to be the first woman in the post because, while experienced, she was a low-profile bureaucrat stepping into a big-profile job. But she gained respect for her command of the files and diplomatic skills.
Canada also has the plus – trade expert Tom d’Aquino said in an interview this week – of having the American business community on its side. “If you see what the positions of the American Chamber of Commerce are, or if you look at the position of the business round table, we’re all singing from the same hymn book,” said Mr. d’Aquino.
With the field of play wide open, Mr. d’Aquino is pushing Ottawa to go for a grand bargain with Washington on both security and trade. We should, he says, join the golden-dome missile program and purchase the F-35 fighter jets, two decisions which would please Mr. Trump. We should get a deal on critical minerals, “which the U.S desperately needs,” and electricity, oil and gas. And get back – “Instead of trying to shut down the car industry and the lumber industry” – to protected free trade. For both sides, Mr. d’Aquino says, it would be “win, win, win.”
The basic problem here is that the delusional President is still going around saying the U.S. doesn’t need anything from Canada.
Rookie ambassador Mr. Wiseman will have the daunting task of trying to convince him otherwise.