Carney names former cabinet minister Jonathan Wilkinson as next EU ambassador

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The former cabinet minister wrote that the world has changed dramatically since he was first elected in 2015 and he believes this new role is the best way he can contribute to Canada’s long-term interests.

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“The European Union is one of Canada’s most important partners on trade, climate, security and the defence of democracy. In Brussels, I will work to ensure that this partnership delivers real benefits for Canadians,” Wilkinson wrote.

Wilkinson said that he will continue to serve as a MP until he is fully in his new role. The news release says Wilkinson will become ambassador at the beginning of summer.

Carney also thanked Stéphane Dion for his work as Canada’s special envoy to the EU and Europe.

The announcement comes as Carney is set to become the first non-European leader to take part in the European Political Community Summit when he heads to Armenia this weekend.

The appointment of Wilkinson will trigger a byelection in his Vancouver-area riding when he steps down to take the ambassadorial post.

Wilkinson’s first professional exposure to politics was in his home province of Saskatchewan in the early 1990s, when he served as an adviser to former NDP premier Roy Romanow.

After leaving the backrooms of the Saskatchewan Legislature in the mid-1990s, Wilkinson spent the next 20 years in the private sector with leadership roles at a number of green technology development companies.

Wilkinson returned to politics in 2015, winning the North Vancouver — Capilano riding for the Liberals in an election that saw former prime minister Justin Trudeau lead the party to a majority government from third-party status.

He was first appointed to cabinet in July 2018, with the fisheries, oceans and Canadian Coast Guard portfolio.

Just over a year later, he became the environment and climate change minister.

Wilkinson assumed the role from Catherine McKenna, as provinces like Saskatchewan and Alberta were challenging the constitutionality of the federal minimum carbon price in court.

His appointment was seen as an overture to the Prairie Provinces at a time when relations with the federal government were strained due to environmental policy. The Liberals were shut out of Saskatchewan and Alberta in the 2019 election.

That issue ultimately made its way to the Supreme Court of Canada, which ruled in favour of the federal government’s ability to set a minimum pollution price in March 2021.

Despite that ruling, opposition to the federal carbon price continued to grow, contributing to the Trudeau government losing public support, members of the Liberal caucus saying Trudeau should resign and his ultimate exit last year.

Carney ended consumer carbon pricing shortly after appointing his first cabinet, which included Wilkinson as natural resource minister.

Before Carney removed the politically unpopular carbon price, Wilkinson had defended the policy by saying it gives Canada an affordable means of addressing climate change.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 30, 2026.

David Baxter, The Canadian Press