24th June 2014 Ottawa, Canada
When I arrived in Canada nearly 3 years ago, one of the best pieces of advice I had was to get out of Ottawa to experience the diversity of culture, politics and geography of this incredible country. This was great advice, and I’ve tried to follow it, travelling as much as my budget (and family commitments!) allow…
28th February 2014 Ottawa, Canada
Next week is a big week for the UK in Canada as we’re launching a “Pop-up” Consulate in Halifax. “What is a Pop-Up Consulate?” you may well ask…
Read more on Watch out Halifax: The Brits are Coming | Reply
29th January 2014 Ottawa, Canada
As a Brit abroad, one of the most frustrating urban myths I hear about the British economy is “Britain doesn’t really make stuff anymore does it?” Isn’t your economy based on the services industry, high tech, financial services etc?
Read more on Reshore Britain: bringing manufacturing home | Reply
28th November 2013 Ottawa, Canada
I was at the beautiful Cumberland Lodge near Windsor, UK, last week for the 2013 Canada-UK Colloquium. The Colloquium is an annual event, taking place alternately in each country, bringing together British and Canadian parliamentarians, public officials, academics…
12th September 2013 Ottawa, Canada
I was in Toronto earlier this week for the Toronto International Film Festival. It’s a time of year when Toronto truly shines – there’s a buzz in the air, and the streets are littered with dark-windowed SUVs ferrying their precious cargo (or, as they are known in the trade “the Talent”) from premiere to press conference and back again…
Read more on TIFF-erific: the UK takes TIFF 2013 by storm | Reply
14th June 2013 Ottawa, Canada
As Chair of the G8, the UK will host a G8 Summit on 17-18 June in Lough Erne, Northern Ireland. Prime Minister Stephen Harper will join David Cameron, and leaders from France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the US and the EU to address global economic and international security issues together.
4th June 2013 Ottawa, Canada
Most of us go through life trying to make a difference for the better, whether in a small way, or in a way that has a bigger, more lasting impact on the world around us. Very few people truly succeed in doing so. And of those that do, very few perhaps get the recognition they deserve…
Read more on Cecil Spring-Rice: Singing the Unsung Hero | Reply (8)
8th April 2013 Ottawa, Canada
If you watch the news later this week you’ll see that G8 Foreign Ministers will be meeting in London on 10-11 April to discuss global conflict: how to prevent it, how to end it and how to deal with its consequences …
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6th March 2013 Ottawa, Canada
Outside my office there is a wall of portraits of previous British High Commissioners to Canada. I call it, with just a hint of a smile, the “wall of diversity”. As you can imagine, the portraits are all of white men of a certain age…
1st March 2013 Ottawa, Canada
It’s well known that the Year of the Dragon is one of the luckiest years in the Chinese calendar; to the Welsh, every year is the year of the dragon, and the red dragon proudly adorns the Flag of Wales. But today is a particularly special day in the Welsh calendar – St David’s Day…
Read more on St David’s Day: Welsh-Canadian connections | Reply (2)