Prime Minister Mark Carney names former United Nations ambassador as chief of staff
TORONTO — Prime Minister Mark Carney has named Canada's former ambassador to the United Nations as his chief of staff.
Carney announced on Sunday that Marc-André Blanchard would begin his post in July, taking over from Marco Mendicino, the former Liberal cabinet minister who had been doing the job on an interim basis.
'Marc-André has a long and distinguished career as one of Canada's most accomplished builders, legal experts, executives, public servants, and diplomats serving as Canada's ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations,' Carney wrote on X.
Blanchard currently serves as an executive at CDPQ Global, a Quebec-based investment firm responsible for managing pension funds and insurance plans.
In his post on X, Carney confirmed that Mendicino would remain his interim chief of staff into 'early summer.'
He said Mendicino would be in the job as the Liberal government prepared to introduce its first legislation of the new session of Parliament and host G7 leaders when they meet in Alberta later this month, including U.S. President Donald Trump.
Carney has named growing Canada's economy in the face of the president's trade war by knocking down interprovincial trade barriers and fast-tracking approvals for new energy and infrastructure projects as his top priorities.
Carney announced Blanchard as his chief of staff as he was set to meet with energy leaders in Calgary on Sunday and then travel to Saskatoon, where he will spend Monday meeting with the premiers for a First Ministers' Meeting.
More to come ..
staylor@postmedia.com
National Post
Get more deep-dive National Post political coverage and analysis in your inbox with the Political Hack newsletter, where Ottawa bureau chief Stuart Thomson and political analyst Tasha Kheiriddin get at what's really going on behind the scenes on Parliament Hill every Wednesday and Friday, exclusively for subscribers. Sign up here.
From Nova Scotia's 'Wind West' to Alberta's pipeline dream, here are the national projects premiers are pitching Carney
John Ivison: The first Carney spending numbers are out, and they're as bad as Trudeau's
Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our politics newsletter, First Reading, here.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
9 minutes ago
- Yahoo
UK needs tough action on government budget policy, OECD warns
LONDON (Reuters) -Britain's government needs to try harder to reduce borrowing and debt, the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said on Tuesday, just over a week before finance minister Rachel Reeves sets out long-term spending plans. "Fiscal prudence is required as the monetary stance is easing gradually," the OECD said in a section on Britain in a broader assessment of international economies. "Efforts to rebuild buffers should be stepped up in the face of strongly constrained budgetary policy and substantial downward risks to growth, while productivity-enhancing public investments should be preserved," it added. Reeves has said she is committed to self-imposed fiscal rules which include balancing tax revenues and day-to-day spending by the 2029-30 financial year and lowering government financial liabilities as a share of the economy. The OECD forecast that Britain's economy will grow 1.3% this year before slowing to growth of 1.0% in 2026 due to trade tensions and higher business uncertainty. "The state of the public finances is a significant downside risk to the outlook if the fiscal rules are to be met," the OECD said. "Currently very thin fiscal buffers could be insufficient to provide adequate support without breaching the fiscal rules in the event of renewed adverse shocks." At the last set of official forecasts in March, Reeves had 10 billion pounds of headroom to meet her fiscal rules - a narrow margin by historic standards that could easily be eroded by higher borrowing costs or weaker growth. The OECD said Reeves should make targeted spending cuts, close tax loopholes and raise local property taxes as well as change the benefits system to get more claimants into work. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
GA-based nonprofit helps veterans find new careers after serving in military
Service members learn how to be dependable, committed, and disciplined. But many veterans have difficulty finding a job in civilian life once their time in the military is finished. An Alpharetta-based nonprofit is helping veterans launch new careers. James Cardwell knows service. 'I'm a veteran of the US military. I served in the Army, Navy, and the Air Force.' When he started a new mission, looking for a civilian job, his resume needed work. 'Coming from combat arms, tons of management experience, obviously, I worked with lots of different systems. But nothing equated over to the civilian world,' Cardwell said. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] He connected with Hire Heroes USA. The nonprofit helps military veterans and their spouses with job search skills and information, all for free. The nonprofit has more than 100,000 confirmed hires. Romaine Byrd said resume tweaks can be the key, changing military language into the terms that businesses use. Byrd said local businesses looking for dependable, hard-working employees should get in touch with them. 'If you do have a spot for a veteran that's looking for employment, please reach out and let us know,' he said. Cardwell now works in technology and said Hire Heroes USA helped him take the next step. 'They're your wingman, the guy in the foxhole with you, your fellow sailor right there. Anything you need, they're there to help you out,' Cardwell said. TRENDING STORIES: Governor's office said it will start issuing special tax refund checks this week PHOTOS: 'Itsy-Bitsy, Teenie-Tiny' town is Georgia's third most visited Midtown Taco Mac abruptly closes, second location to do so in as many months [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
U.N. calls for probe into reports dozens killed at Gaza aid site
June 3 (UPI) -- United Nations head Antonio Guterres has called for "an immediate and independent investigation" into reports that Israeli forces shot and killed dozens of Palestinians seeking aid in Gaza over the weekend. "I am appalled by the reports of Palestinians killed and injured while seeking aid in Gaza yesterday. It is unacceptable that Palestinians are risking their lives for food," Guterres, the United Nations' secretary-general, said Monday in a statement. "I call for an immediate and independent investigation into these events and for perpetrators to be held accountable." On Sunday, at least 31 Palestinians were killed and 200 injured when Israel Defense Forces soldiers opened fire on those at an aid station in Rafah, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said in a statement. The ministry accused Israel of using the aid centers as "a new mechanism" to conduct mass killings in Gaza amid an acute shortage of medical supplies. Dr. Ahmed Abu Sweid, an Australian doctor who recently arrived in Gaza, said in a recorded statement that they had received civilian casualties at the Nasser Medical Complex, just north of Rafah, on Sunday who were wounded after being told to go to an aid center to collect food. He said the civilians showed up at the medical center with gunshot wounds and shrapnel wounds, most of whom arrived in critical condition, some were dead on arrival due to "target gunshot wounds to the head and thorax. "I've never seen anything like this," he said. Israel has denied responsibility, saying findings from a preliminary investigation show that "the IDF did not fire at civilians while they were near or within the humanitarian aid distribution site." "The reports are false," Israel said in a statement, while accusing Hamas of doing "everything in its power to undermine food distribution efforts in the Gaza Strip." Israel's foreign ministry rejected Guterres' statement, deriding it for not mentioning Hamas, the militant group it has been at war with in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023. "What a disgrace," the ministry said. "Does the U.N. really care about providing aid to the people in Gaza, or is it more focused on feeding Hamas and its war machine?" Since the war began with Hamas' surprise attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw another 251 kidnapped, Israel has devastated Gaza, killing nearly 54,500 people, mostly women and children.
