| Post: | Ambassador of Canada to France |
| Insigniasize: | 120 |
| Incumbent: | Stéphane Dion |
| Incumbentsince: | June 1, 2022 |
| Seat: | Embassy of Canada, Paris |
| Nominator: | Prime Minister of Canada |
| Appointer: | Governor General of Canada |
| Termlength: | At His Majesty's pleasure |
| Inaugural: | Hector Fabre |
| Formation: | July 12, 1882 |
The ambassador of Canada to France (French: Ambassadeur du Canada auprès de la France) is the official representative of the Canadian government to the government of France. The official title for the ambassador is Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Canada to the French Republic (French: Ambassadeur extraordinaire et plénipotentiaire du Canada auprès de la République française). The ambassador of Canada to France is Stéphane Dion who was appointed on the advice of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on May 31, 2022.
The Embassy of Canada is located at 130, rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, 75008 Paris, France.
See main article: Canada–France relations.
The mission in Paris was established in 1882, when Hector Fabre was sent to serve as an "Agent of the Dominion (of Canada)", in the form of a Commissioner. He was accorded no formal diplomatic status, however, as Britain had not accorded Canada the right to establish formal diplomatic relations with foreign states. In 1891, Fabre was succeeded by Senator Philippe Roy as Canada's Agent in France.
Official diplomatic relations between Canada and France were established on January 31, 1928, a legation was established with Philippe Roy continuing on as the first Envoy to France with diplomatic privileges on September 24, 1928. The legation moved from Paris to London on June 24, 1940, following Germany's invasion of France. Canada officially recognized the French Committee of National Liberation on August 27, 1943. Canada officially recognized the Provisional Government of the French Republic on October 23, 1944, and following the Liberation of Paris, Canada's embassy was re-established in Paris on August 24, 1944 with George Philias Vanier as Canada's first Ambassador.
Canada's mission to France is the second-oldest Canadian diplomatic post, the oldest being the Canadian High Commission in London. Technically, however, Paris is Canada's oldest foreign mission, since the diplomatic posting to London was not considered to be a "foreign" mission because Canada was a member of the British Empire.
The official residence of the Canadian ambassador is located at 135 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré in the 8th arrondissement of Paris.[1] The building is known as the Hôtel de Rigny and was purchased by the Canadian government in 1950.
| No. | Name | Term of office | Career | Prime Minister nominated by | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start Date | End Date | |||||||||
| — | Agent of the Dominion (of Canada) to France | |||||||||
| 1 | Hector Fabre (Commissioner) | July 12, 1882 | September 2, 1910 | Non-Career | style=text-align:center | John A. Macdonald (1878-1891) | ||||
| 2 | Philippe Roy (Commissioner General) | May 1, 1911 | September 29, 1928 | Non-Career | style=text-align:center | Wilfrid Laurier (1896-1911) | ||||
| — | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary (of Canada) to France | |||||||||
| 3 | Philippe Roy | September 24, 1928 | September 29, 1928 | December 31, 1938 | Non-Career | W. L. Mackenzie King (1926-1930 & 1935-1948) | ||||
| 4 | George Philias Vanier | December 12, 1938 | February 21, 1939 | September 14, 1940 | Career | |||||
| – | Pierre Dupuy (Chargé d'Affaires ad interim) | October 15, 1940 | November 9, 1942 | Career | ||||||
| – | George Philias Vanier (Representative) | November 30, 1942 | November 30, 1942 | Career | ||||||
| – | George Philias Vanier (Representative) | October 1, 1943 | January 22, 1944 | November 22, 1944 | Career | |||||
| — | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Canada to France | |||||||||
| 5 | George Philias Vanier | November 22, 1944 | December 20, 1944 | December 31, 1953 | Career | style=text-align:center | W. L. Mackenzie King (1935-1948) | |||
| 6 | Jean Désy | December 17, 1953 | January 4, 1954 | July 1, 1958 | Career | style=text-align:center | Louis St. Laurent (1948-1957) | |||
| 7 | Pierre Dupuy | June 5, 1958 | August 19, 1958 | December 31, 1963 | Career | style=text-align:center | John G. Diefenbaker (1957-1963) | |||
| 8 | Jules Léger | February 20, 1964 | June 1, 1964 | October 31, 1968 | Career | style=text-align:center | Lester B. Pearson (1963-1968) | |||
| 9 | Paul André Beaulieu | September 27, 1968 | December 14, 1968 | September 16, 1970 | Career | Pierre Elliott Trudeau (1968-1979) | ||||
| 10 | Léo Cadieux | July 24, 1970 | October 16, 1970 | September 8, 1975 | Non-Career | |||||
| 11 | Gérard Pelletier | September 4, 1975 | December 16, 1975 | July 17, 1981 | Non-Career | |||||
| 12 | Michel Dupuy | August 20, 1981 | September 30, 1981 | 1985 | Career | |||||
| 13 | Lucien Bouchard | July 4, 1985 | September 20, 1985 | 1988 | Non-Career | Brian Mulroney (1984-1993) | ||||
| 14 | Claude Talbot Charland | August 18, 1988 | November 22, 1988 | 1992 | Career | |||||
| 15 | Benoît Bouchard | June 18, 1993 | July 21, 1993 | 1996 | Non-Career | |||||
| 16 | Jacques Roy | June 3, 1996 | July 10, 1996 | August 1, 2000 | Career | Jean Chrétien (1993-2003) | ||||
| 17 | Raymond A.J. Chrétien | June 23, 2000 | September 12, 2000 | November 2003 | Career | |||||
| 18 | Claude Laverdure | September 15, 2003 | November 4, 2003 | August 30, 2007 | Career | |||||
| 19 | Marc Lortie | June 4, 2007 | July 12, 2012 | Career | Stephen Harper (2006-2015) | |||||
| 20 | Lawrence Cannon | May 21, 2012 | October 26, 2012 | August 7, 2017 | Non-Career | |||||
| 21 | Isabelle Hudon | September 29, 2017 | December 18, 2017 | July 8, 2021 | Non-Career | Justin Trudeau (2015-Present) | ||||
| 22 | Stéphane Dion | May 31, 2022 | October 13, 2022 | Non-Career | [2] | |||||