Trudeau names former B.C. premier Canada's ambassador to Germany
John Horgan, the former premier of British Columbia, has been named Canada's next ambassador to Germany.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the appointment Wednesday, calling the former New Democratic Party premier a "passionate public servant and an experienced leader."
Horgan, who has twice battled cancer, stepped down as premier in November 2022 and resigned his seat in the B.C. legislature in March, ending a 30-year career in politics that included five terms as a Vancouver Island MLA and eight years as leader of the B.C. New Democrats.
A statement from the Prime Minister's Office commended Horgan on his leadership through the COVID-19 pandemic and his efforts to create jobs in an environmentally sustainable economy.
"I am confident that he will continue to serve Canada well and help advance our two countries' common interests in this new role, including our shared commitment to building a clean future with good middle-class jobs and a strong economy that benefits everyone," Trudeau said.
Horgan was among dozens of Canadians sanctioned by Russia's foreign ministry last spring after he publicly condemned the country's invasion of Ukraine, and pulled Russian vodka from B.C. liquor store shelves in protest.
Horgan called the sanction, which bars him from entering Russia, a "badge of honour, not for myself but for British Columbia."
A married father of two adult sons, Horgan took his first post-politics job in April when he joined the board of Elk Valley Resources, a coal-mining unit that was spun off from Vancouver-based mining giant Teck Resources.
In his new role as ambassador, Horgan will provide strategic advice to the prime minister as Canada and Germany navigate the shared challenges of food and energy security and global conflicts, the PMO said.
Horgan, 64, isn't the first former B.C. leader to receive a post in Canada's foreign service.
Former premier Gordon Campbell was named the high commissioner to the United Kingdom by the federal Conservative government in 2011, serving in the role until 2016.
The Canadian embassy in Germany is located in Berlin, with consulates in Munich, Dusseldorf, and an honorary consul in Stuttgart.
Germany maintains an embassy in Ottawa, as well as consulates in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Liberal MP says she's leaving politics over disrespectful dialogue, threats, misogyny
Liberal MP Pam Damoff says she won't run again in the next federal election, saying she has experienced misogyny, disrespectful dialogue in politics and threats to her life.
Concerns about Plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall Plexiglass barriers.
Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Ont. woman who faked pregnancy to defraud doulas arrested again on similar charges
Victims of a Brantford, Ont., woman who was sentenced to house arrest earlier this year for defrauding and deceiving doulas say they’re not surprised she’s been apprehended again on similar charges.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Construction begins on LGBTQ2S+ national monument in Ottawa
Shovels have hit the ground for constuction on Canada's LGBTQ2S+ national monument in Ottawa.
B.C. man awarded $5,000 in damages in first-of-it-kind intimate image case
In a first-of-its-kind case, a B.C. tribunal has ruled on a dispute involving the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, awarding damages and issuing orders that the photos be destroyed and taken offline.