Prime Minister Mark Carney takes part in the Canada-UAE Investment Summit in Abu Dhabi last November. One of his senior aides, Angad Singh Dhillon, will become Canada’s ambassador to the UAE on Oct. 5.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
One of Mark Carney’s closest aides will be Canada’s next ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, with the posting starting in just one week, the government said Monday.
Long-time Liberal staffer Angad Singh Dhillon has served as the Prime Minister’s director of operations, outreach and stakeholder relations since Mr. Carney won office in March, 2025.
He will become Canada’s ambassador to the UAE on Oct. 5, Global Affairs spokesperson Charlotte MacLeod said on Monday. His appointment was first announced by Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand on Friday afternoon.
Mr. Dhillon’s last day in the Prime Minister’s Office will be Wednesday, a senior government official said.
The Globe is not identifying the official, who was not authorized to disclose the information.
Neither Ms. Anand’s office nor department explained why the government made a patronage appointment instead of selecting an ambassador from the diplomatic corps. Ms. MacLeod noted in a brief statement that final approval of diplomatic appointments rests with the Prime Minister.
Prior to his role on Mr. Carney’s senior team, Mr. Dhillon served the entirety of former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s tenure in varying posts in the Prime Minister’s Office, Liberal Research Bureau and ministerial offices. According to his LinkedIn profile, his last position under Mr. Trudeau’s government was as chief of staff to the minister of transport and then the minister of small business.
He began working for the Liberals in 2014.
Mr. Dhillon helped develop and plan Mr. Carney’s recent Canada Investment Summit and helped jump-start relations with India and China, according to a biographical note released by the government. It said in his past roles Mr. Dhillon supported Canada’s work internationally, including with the Group of Seven, the Group of 20 and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.
The biographical note describes Mr. Dhillon as “one of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s closest advisers.”
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Mr. Dhillon’s appointment is part of a growing list of patronage postings under Mr. Carney.
For example, last year the Prime Minister appointed one of his principal secretaries, David Lametti (also a former Liberal minister), as Canada’s ambassador to the UN.
The Prime Minister’s other principal secretary, Tom Pitfield, was appointed to the Senate in July. That same month, the government appointed former Liberal minister Kamal Khera to be consul-general in Los Angeles.
In April, Mr. Carney appointed former Liberal minister Jonathan Wilkinson to be ambassador to the European Union.
The government declined to release the salary range for Mr. Dhillon, saying it would only be published on Thursday with the accompanying order in council.
When Mr. Wilkinson was appointed, his disclosed salary range was $285,300 to $335,600.
Canada’s embassy in the UAE still lists Canada’s ambassador as diplomat Radha Krishna Panday. However, his LinkedIn page says he left the post in April. Mr. Panday was appointed in 2022.
Since Mr. Carney came to office, his government has sought to deepen ties with the UAE. In July, the two governments announced the conclusion of negotiations on a new economic and trade agreement. Last year, the UAE pledged to invest $70-billion in Canada; however, no announcements have been made since then and while the UAE had a significant contingent at the Canada Investment Summit two weeks ago, no investments were announced then either.
Over the summer the UAE said it expected an investment would be made soon in Canada’s energy sector.
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Both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have raised concerns about the authoritarian UAE’s domestic human rights abuses and support for a rebel paramilitary group in Sudan. A 2024 U.S. State Department report said there are “significant human rights issues” in the country, including credible reports of disappearances and arbitrary arrest or detention.
NDP MP Heather McPherson told The Globe on Monday that she is concerned Mr. Dhillon’s appointment signals the Carney government will look past the UAE’s human rights record in the name of more trade.
Ms. McPherson, who is also the NDP’s foreign affairs critic, accused Mr. Carney of taking a “mercenary” approach.
She said there should be rules preventing patronage appointments and questioned what expertise Mr. Dhillon brings to the role.
The Conservatives did not reply to a request for comment.
With a report from James Bradshaw