Ottawa Names Special Envoy to the Indo-Pacific Region

Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly responds to questions as Public Safety Minister Marco Mendocino listens during a news conference to announce Canada's Indo-Pacific strategy in Vancouver on Nov. 27, 2022. The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck

The federal government has named Ian McKay, Canada’s current ambassador to Japan, to also serve as Canada’s special envoy to the Indo-Pacific region.

Global Affairs said in an April 19 news release that Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly named McKay to the role in order to advise the federal government, as well as take part in diplomatic missions in the Indo-Pacific and advance the implementation of the Indo-Pacific Strategy.

Canada and the Indo-Pacific have long-standing trade and diplomatic relations, which Ottawa intends to strengthen as part of the strategy launched in November 2022. The strategy began with a five-year investment of close to $2.3 billion.

The government said the strategy includes being more involved in the Indo-Pacific region over the next 10 years and increasing Canada’s contributions to regional peace and security, including increasing the Canadian Armed Forces’ participation in regional military exercises.

The government will also add to Canada’s Indo-Pacific naval presence, establish a Canadian Trade Gateway in Southeast Asia, and open Canada’s first agriculture office in the region, at a cost of $38.1 million.

Ottawa also plans to spend $24.5 million for the new office of the Asia-Pacific Foundation of Canada in the region, “to help build and strengthen relations with local partners.”

Experience

McKay has previously worked in financial, political, and economic development roles at all three levels of government. He was appointed special envoy to Japan in 2018, and appointed as Canada’s Ambassador to Japan on April 15, 2021, a role he will keep along with his new appointment.

McKay “played a critical role” during final negotiations of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which facilitates “deeper trade ties between Canada and our Indo-Pacific partners,” the release said.

Japan, which is part of the Indo-Pacific region, is one of Canada’s G7 partners, which the federal government described as a close relationship, stating that McKay’s new role will bring “vast regional experience” to promoting Canada in that region.

McKay, originally from Penticton, British Columbia, was appointed in March 2018, as the founding Chief Executive Officer of Invest in Canada, which promotes Canada globally as a place to invest. He previously worked in international financial markets in Tokyo, London, and New York.

From 2001 to 2005, Mr. McKay served as a senior policy advisor to three federal cabinet ministers in the Government of Canada and from 2010 to 2013 as the National Director for the Liberal Party of Canada.

After his role in Ottawa, McKay took a position as the Chief Executive Officer of the Vancouver Economic Commission from 2013 until 2018.

The Indo-Pacific region includes 40 countries: Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, fourteen Pacific Island Countries, Pakistan, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam.

Canada said the Indo-Pacific region accounts for more than one-third of the world’s economic activity, and by 2040, will be responsible for more than half of the global economy. By 2040, said the news release, the Indo-Pacific will be home to two-thirds of the global middle class. It is already housing 65 percent of the world’s population and boasts 21 of the globe’s 30 largest cities.