Michael Wilson Named Canadian Ambassador to U.S.
Sunday February 26, 2006
Prime Minister Stephen Harper reached back into the Mulroney government days to find a new Canadian Ambassador to the United States. Once the formalities are over, likely by mid-March, former finance and trade minister Michael Wilson will move to Washington to set the Conservative stamp on Canadian relations with the United States.
Well-liked on all sides, Michael Wilson certainly has the experience for the job. A stock broker and investment banker, Wilson was finance minister for more than six years and international trade minister for two. The Prime Minister's Office says that Wilson has represented Canada at the IMF, IBRD, OECD, GATT and G-7 Ministers meetings. They don't mention that Wilson can also take credit for introducing the controversial Goods and Services Tax (GST) which the Conservative government has promised to begin dismantling.
Wilson also helped negotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which should stand him in good stead when trying to sort out trade disputes with the United States, especially the softwood lumber issue, which will be an important file on his desk. Of course, it was Michael Wilson who in 1991 tore up the bilateral agreement with the United States on software lumber, an action that was supposed to end the bitter dispute.
More on appointment of Canadian Ambassador to the United States:
Wilsonian Diplomacy
Wilson Sets Softwood as Top Priority
Softwood Lumber Dispute
Well-liked on all sides, Michael Wilson certainly has the experience for the job. A stock broker and investment banker, Wilson was finance minister for more than six years and international trade minister for two. The Prime Minister's Office says that Wilson has represented Canada at the IMF, IBRD, OECD, GATT and G-7 Ministers meetings. They don't mention that Wilson can also take credit for introducing the controversial Goods and Services Tax (GST) which the Conservative government has promised to begin dismantling.
Wilson also helped negotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which should stand him in good stead when trying to sort out trade disputes with the United States, especially the softwood lumber issue, which will be an important file on his desk. Of course, it was Michael Wilson who in 1991 tore up the bilateral agreement with the United States on software lumber, an action that was supposed to end the bitter dispute.
More on appointment of Canadian Ambassador to the United States:
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