High Commissioner to Canada

  • Media release

Today I announce the appointment of Ms Natasha Smith as Australia's next High Commissioner to Canada.

Australia and Canada enjoy a close relationship which reflects a long shared history, common values and institutions, and broad people-to-people and economic links.

We have strong trade and investment ties, with two-way investment totalling $85 billion in 2016, making Canada our seventh largest source of foreign direct investment. Our trade relationship is deepening and in 2016 Australian merchandise exports to Canada grew by approximately 14 per cent while Canada's services exports to Australia increased by 15 per cent.

Canada is an important international partner, and we cooperate on a range of issues including on climate change, addressing global migration, maintaining global peace and security, reconciliation with indigenous populations and empowerment of women and girls. We work closely together in APEC, the G20, OECD, WTO and the United Nations. Australian and Canadian defence personnel have served side by side for over 100 years and continue to do so in the Middle East.

Ms Smith is a senior career officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and was most recently First Assistant Secretary, Multilateral Development and Finance Division. She has served as Assistant Secretary, Humanitarian Response Branch and Assistant Secretary, Integration Task Force. She has previously served overseas as Counsellor (Development) at Australia's Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York and First Secretary (Development) at the Australian Embassy in Jakarta.

Ms Smith holds a Bachelor of Economics from James Cook University.

I thank outgoing High Commissioner Tony Negus for his contribution to advancing Australia's interests in Canada since 2015.

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