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The Honourable Frank McKenna
Canadian Ambassador to the United States of America

The Hon. Frank McKenna met with President George W. Bush on March 8 to present to him a letter from the Governor General designating him as Canada’s Ambassador to the United States.

Frank McKenna assumed his responsibilities as Ambassador on March 8, 2005, becoming the 20th representative of Canada to the United States.

Ambassador McKenna’s began his professional career as a lawyer in 1974. In 1982 he was elected to the New Brunswick Legislative Assembly and in 1984 he became leader of his Party. He became Premier of the province in 1987, a position which he held continuously until 1997. Since 1997, he has served as Counsel to the Atlantic Law Firm of McInnes Cooper in Moncton, New Brunswick and has been Consulting Counsel to the Law Firm of Osler Hoskin & Harcourt based in Toronto. Mr. McKenna also served as President of Glenwood Kitchen Cabinets, a family-owned business in Shediac, New Brunswick. In addition, he has served on the boards of a number of North American corporations, including The Carlyle Group Canadian Advisory Board.

Mr. McKenna has acted in a volunteer capacity with a number of organizations, including the Canadian Business Hall of Fame, the Canadian Millennium Scholarship Foundation, the Canadian Unity Council, the Public-Private Infrastructure Ad Hoc Steering Committee, Historica — A Foundation for the Study of Canadian History, the National Adult Literacy Database, the C.D. Howe Institute, The Portage Program, The New Brunswick Foundation for the Arts, the National Ballet School Capital Campaign, and the Capital Campaigns for the University of New Brunswick and l’Université de Moncton.

In addition to his legal career and public service, Mr. McKenna was Chairman of the Board of CanWest Global, Canada’s leading media company with newspapers in all of Canada’s major cities, a national television network, broadcast assets in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Israel. He served on the boards of Canadian Natural Resources (one of Canada’s major oil sands participants), General Motors, Shoppers Drug Mart (a leading Canadian drugstore chain), and Noranda (a global mining company). He also served on a number of advisory boards including the Carlyle Group, AMEC, UPS, and Duke Energy Transmission.

In 2002, Mr. McKenna and his wife Julie purchased Glenwood Kitchen Cabinets. This company manufactures customized kitchens for the Canadian, US and Caribbean markets. The manufacturing operation is currently being run by their son, James.

During his career, Mr. McKenna has been honoured by a number of awards. These include: the Churchill Society for the Advancement of Parliamentary Documentary (1999); the Canadian Advanced Technology Association (CATA) IWAY Award for Government Services (1996); The Canadian Association of University Continuing Education Award of Recognition (1996); Economic Developer of the Year (1993); the Vanier Award for Outstanding Young Canadians (1988); and the CATA Award of Distinction (1994). In addition, he was an Inaugural Member of the Public Service Wing of the Canadian Information Productivity Awards Hall of Fame (1996). During his leadership of New Brunswick, that province was awarded an International Year of the Family Patron Award by the United Nations Secretariat for the International Year of the Family in 1995. In the same year UNESCO awarded New Brunswick the UNESCO International Literacy Prize.

Mr. McKenna has served on the Security Intelligence Review Committee which has oversight responsibilities for the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS).

Mr. McKenna graduated from St. Francis Xavier University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree. He also conducted post-graduate studies there and then completed a Bachelor of Laws Degree at New Brunswick University as a Lord Beaverbrook Scholar. Mr. McKenna holds Honorary Doctor of Law Degrees from Dalhousie University (2002), Royal Military College (2000), Ryerson Polytechnic University (1999), St. Thomas University (1996), St. Francis Xavier University (1994), Mount Allison University (1991), and the University of New Brunswick (1988). In 1988 he was also awarded an Honorary Doctor of Political Science Degree by l’Université de Moncton.

Ambassador McKenna was born in Sussex, New Brunswick on January 19, 1948. He is married to Julie Friel McKenna of Moncton, New Brunswick. They have three children — Toby, Christine, and James — and four grandchildren.

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