April 19, 2021
The CJSBC is a happy to congratulate Mr. Ian G. McKay, CEO of Invest in Canada, on being appointed as Canada’s next Ambassador to Japan! He assumes his new position later this Spring.
Invest in Canada is a federal agency that helps global businesses expand operations into Canada. Mr. McKay began serving as the founding CEO of Invest in Canada in March 2018, the year the agency was created. Just prior to that appointment, McKay was named special envoy to Japan in order to assist with Canada’s participation in the negotiation of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in Tokyo. He supported the Prime Minister as part of Canada’s final negotiations to join the CPTPP.
Fluent in Japanese, McKay hails from British Columbia and studied political science and Asian studies at the University of British Columbia. He has worked in international financial markets in London, Tokyo and New York City and as a senior policy adviser to Cabinet ministers in the Government of Canada. From 2010 to 2013 he was the national director and CEO of the Liberal Party of Canada.
Just prior to becoming CEO of Invest in Canada, McKay served as CEO of the Vancouver Economic Commission, an external agency of the City of Vancouver, which works to strengthen Vancouver’s economy through programming and attracting targeted high-impact investment, among other things.