On behalf of the Canada-Japan Society of British Columbia, I would like to thank Jonathan Fried, Canada’s Ambassador to Japan, for his sincere and tireless efforts on behalf of all Canadians in the bilateral interest. I would also like to wish him all the best in his new appointment as Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organization in Geneva.
– Steven J. Archer, President
Jonathan Fried (BA [Philosophy], University of Toronto, 1974; LLB, University of Toronto, 1977; LLM, Columbia University, 1979) joined the Department of External Affairs in 1980 and has served as principal legal counsel for the North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations (1991 to 1993); principal counsel, trade law (1993 to 1996); director general of the Trade Policy Bureau and NAFTA coordinator (1995 to 1997); and assistant deputy minister of trade, economic and environmental policy (1997 to 2000). He has also served as senior assistant deputy minister, Department of Finance Canada, and Canada’s deputy to the G-7 (2000 to 2003); associate deputy minister, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (2003); and senior foreign policy adviser to the prime minister and head of the Canada-United States Secretariat, Privy Council Office (2003 to 2006). Mr. Fried has served abroad as second secretary and vice-consul at the Canadian embassy to Brazil (1981 to 1983) and as counsellor for congressional and legal affairs at the Canadian embassy in Washington, D.C. (1987 to 1991). From 2006 to 2008, he was the International Monetary Fund’s executive director for Canada, Ireland and the Caribbean. In 2008, Mr. Fried became Canada’s ambassador to Japan. He is married to Paula Vaillancourt. Mr. Fried succeeds John Gero.