The high commissioner of Australia to Canada is an officer of the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is the department of the Australian government responsible for foreign policy and international relations, development aid (under the name Australian Aid), consular services, overseas trad ...

and the head of the High Commission of the Commonwealth of Australia to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. The Australian High Commission also has responsibility for relations with

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

, a self-governing

Overseas Territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. The position has the rank and status of an

ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

and is currently held by Kate Logan since 9 December 2024. Australia and Canada have enjoyed official diplomatic relations since 12 September 1939, when high commissioners were first exchanged as Australia's second independent diplomatic posting established from 29 March 1940, with only the High Commission in London (1910) being older. As fellow

Dominion A dominion was any of several largely self-governance, self-governing countries of the British Empire, once known collectively as the ''British Commonwealth of Nations''. Progressing from colonies, their degrees of self-governing colony, colon ...

countries, Australia and Canada had many prior contacts, particularly in trade, and continue to share a monarch as

Commonwealth realms A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state in the Commonwealth of Nations that has the same constitutional monarch and head of state as the other realms. The current monarch is King Charles III. Except for the United Kingdom, in each of the ...

. The High Commissioner's Official Residence is located at Australia House, Ottawa, while the

Chancery Chancery may refer to: Offices and administration * Court of Chancery, the chief court of equity in England and Wales until 1873 ** Equity (law), also called chancery, the body of jurisprudence originating in the Court of Chancery ** Courts of e ...

is located at the Sun Life Financial Centre, Suite 1301, 50 O'Connor Street, in

Downtown Ottawa Downtown Ottawa is the central area of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is sometimes referred to as the Central Business District and contains Ottawa's financial district. It is bordered by the Ottawa River to the north, the Rideau Canal to the east, ...

. The work of the High Commission is also supported by a Consulate-General in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

and an Honorary Consulate in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, which are run by

Austrade The Australian Trade and Investment Commission, or Austrade ( ), is the Australian Government's trade, investment and education promotion agency which was also given responsibility for tourism policy, programs and research from 2013. Austrade ...

Posting history

Formal diplomatic relations between Australia and Canada formally began on 12 September 1939 when the two countries agreed to exchange high commissioners. Australian representation in Canada prior to this was limited to a Trade Commissioner post with a focus on promoting trade, with Rupert Haynes, an Australian businessman connected to the South Australian fruit industry, appointed by the Minister for Markets and Transport as the first "Commercial Representative for the Commonwealth of Australia in the Dominion of Canada" on 1 April 1929. Haynes was recalled on 15 March 1930, and was later replaced by Lewis Richard Macgregor, who served until May 1938. The first Canadian high commissioner, Charles Jost Burchell, was appointed on 3 November 1939 and arrived in Australia on 27 December 1939. On 23 December 1939, Prime Minister

Robert Menzies The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, praise, reno ...

announced the appointment of Sir Thomas Glasgow as the first Australian high commissioner. Glasgow arrived in Ottawa on 29 March 1940. From 7 January 1974 to 1975, the high commissioner had non-resident accreditation for

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

, when it was transferred to the high commissioner in Jamaica.

High commissioners

Consulates

The work of the high commission is supported by a consulate-general in Toronto, which has been operated by the Australian Trade Commission (now Austrade) since 1929, and was upgraded to a consulate-general in 1975. The Honorary Consulate in Vancouver was originally established in 1947 as a Trade Commission and also upgraded to a consulate in 1975. There was also previously a consulate-general in Montreal from 1975 to its closure in 1976, having previously operated as a Trade Commission only since 1953.

References

External links

Australian High Commission, Canada
{{Lists of heads of Australian diplomatic missions

Posting history

High commissioners

Consulates

See also

References

External links