LILLEY: Why Carney needs to appoint a Conservative to Washington

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Now that the Carney government has been sworn in, it’s time for the prime minister to send a new voice and face for Canada to Washington.

Ambassador Kristen Hillman, who has been in the role since August 2019, will soon be leaving and if Mark Carney is smart, he will replace her with a politician.

Not only a politician, but Canada’s new Liberal government should make sure they send a Conservative to Washington.

We need someone in Washington who understands the ebb and flow of electoral politics and with all due respect to our professional diplomats, they don’t have that skill set. In all of Canada’s key embassy postings, the career diplomats should be there to support a political appointee who knows how to operate in rooms of power.

With Donald Trump and his Republican Party having a strong hold on Washington, Carney should look for someone a little bit closer politically to Trump than he and his Liberal Party are, someone who can speak to and understand the GOP.

Stephen Harper took this approach when he appointed Gary Doer, the former New Democrat premier of Manitoba, to represent Canada in Washington during the Obama years. Doer received solid reviews and performed effectively and was able to bridge the gap between the progressives surrounding Barack Obama and Harper’s Conservative government in Ottawa.

In fact, Harper is one person Carney should consider as a potential ambassador. Given Harper’s going business concerns, it’s unlikely he’d take the pay cut, but with his extensive international experience, he’d be a great candidate.

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Gordon Campbell would also be a solid candidate — the former premier of British Columbia served as Canada’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 2011-16. Former Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall is another candidate who knows his way around Washington and would also be seen as an olive branch to Western Canada.

Several former Harper-era cabinet ministers such as Rona Ambrose, Peter MacKay and Jason Kenney all have the experience and Conservative credentials to take on the role.

Perhaps the best choice is the less obvious one, Caroline Mulroney.

Currently serving as president of the Treasury Board in the Government of Ontario, Mulroney has connection, American experience and of course that famous name. Around Queen’s Park she’s known as someone who knows her files and knows how to get things done.

Mulroney would be able to go into meetings and speak to Republicans about her father’s friendship with Ronald Reagan or George H.W. Bush. At the same time, she could invoke her father’s friendship with Democrat stalwarts like Teddy Kennedy.

Mulroney studied at Harvard for her B.A. and New York University for law school, she lived in the United States and her husband is American.

A selling point for Mulroney is that she’s not the flashy kind of character who would outshine the PM and government in Ottawa. Yet, she has the personal charm and skillset to be able to work a room of seasoned politicians.

Whether Mulroney would want the job is another matter, but simply put, she’d be a fantastic candidate.

Whoever the government decides to send to Washington needs to fill those two key objectives though – have political experience and be able to mix with Republican Washington and speak their language.

It could be difficult for the Liberals to think that they need a Conservative in D.C. and some Conservatives might balk at the idea of serving the Carney Liberal government in Ottawa. For the good of the country though, everyone should be willing to put such considerations aside and find the best person for the job.

blilley@postmedia.com