Marc-André Blanchard (born November 10, 1965) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

executive, lawyer and former diplomat. He served as

Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations The Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations (), known unofficially as the Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations (), is the Permanent representative to the United Nations, Permanent Representative of Canada to t ...

, from April 1, 2016 until July 31, 2020. In June 2025, Prime Minister

Mark Carney Mark Joseph Carney (born March 16, 1965) is a Canadian politician and economist who has served as the 24th and current Prime Minister of Canada, prime minister of Canada since 2025. He has served as Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, lead ...

announced Blanchard as his new

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

starting in July.

Early life and education

Blanchard is a graduate of the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (; UdeM; ) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce on M ...

, the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

and

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

Career

Prior to his appointment to the United Nations, Blanchard was chairman and CEO of

McCarthy Tétrault McCarthy Tétrault LLP is a Canadian law firm specializing in business law, litigation services, tax law, real property law, labour and employment law, with offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Montréal, Québec City, London (UK), as well ...

, one of Canada's largest

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise consumer, clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and Obligation, respon ...

s, and was president of the

Quebec Liberal Party The Quebec Liberal Party (QLP; , PLQ) is a provincial political party in Quebec. It has been independent of the federal Liberal Party of Canada since 1955. The QLP has traditionally supported a form of Quebec federalist ideology with nuance ...

from 2000 to 2008. He served on

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau (born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of Canada from 2015 to 2025. He led the Liberal Party from 2013 until his resignation in 2025 and was the member of Parliament ...

's transition team following the

2015 election Africa * 2015 Beninese parliamentary election 26 April 2015 * 2015 Burkinabé general election 29 November 2015 * 2015 Burundian legislative election 29 June 2015 * 2015 Burundian presidential election 21 July 2015 * 2015-16 Central African g ...

."Trudeau picks close allies as ambassadors to U.S. and UN"
''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', January 16, 2016. In 2013, Blanchard was named among the 25 most influential lawyers in Canada by ''Canadian Lawyer Magazine'', and Catalyst Canada awarded him the CEO Recognition Award for his leadership in gender diversity. In 2016, Blanchard was nominated to represent

Trudeau's foreign policy The foreign policy of Justin Trudeau was Foreign relations of Canada, Canada's foreign policy of the Liberal Party of Canada, Liberal Government of Canada, government led by Prime Minister of Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (in office Nov ...

at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

as Permanent Representative of Canada. That same year, Blanchard was awarded Advocatus Emeritus by the

Quebec Bar Association The Bar of Quebec () is the regulatory body for the practice of advocates in the Canadian province of Quebec and one of two legal regulatory bodies in the province. It was founded on May 30, 1849, as the Bar of Lower Canada (). History The begi ...

. In 2017, he was named as a member of Canada's

North American Free Trade Agreement The North American Free Trade Agreement (, TLCAN; , ALÉNA), referred to colloquially in the Anglosphere as NAFTA, ( ) was an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States that created a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The ...

(NAFTA) Council. On May 3, 2018 he was named as Canada's Representative to the

Ismaili Imamat The doctrine of the Imamate in Isma'ilism differs from that of the Twelvers because the Isma'ilis had living Imams for centuries after the last Twelver Imam went into concealment. They followed Isma'il ibn Ja'far, elder brother of Musa al-Kadh ...

, an announcement coinciding with the Canadian Diamond Jubilee visit of the

Aga Khan Aga Khan (; ; also transliterated as ''Aqa Khan'' and ''Agha Khan'') is a title held by the Imamate in Nizari doctrine, Imām of the Nizari Isma'ilism, Nizari Isma'ilism, Ismāʿīli Shia Islam, Shias. The current holder of the title is the ...

. Blanchard retired from his diplomatic postings on July 31, 2020, shortly after Canada lost the

2020 United Nations Security Council election The 2020 United Nations Security Council election was held on 17 and 18 June 2020 during the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly, held at United Nations Headquarters in New York City. The elections were for five non-permanent se ...

. Effective September 8, 2020, he is an executive vice-president of pension fund manager

Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (, CDPQ; ) is an institutional investor that manages several public and parapublic pension plans and insurance programs in the Canadian province of Quebec. It was established in 1965 by an act of the ...

in charge of its CDPQ Global division, with responsibility for the United States/Latin America, Europe and Asia/Pacific.

Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister

On June 1, 2025, Prime Minister

selected Blanchard as his

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blanchard, Marc-Andre 1965 births 21st-century Canadian lawyers 20th-century Canadian lawyers Quebec Liberal Party politicians Permanent representatives of Canada to the United Nations Living people Canadian political party presidents Chiefs of staff of the Canadian Prime Minister's Office