Keith Smith — born and raised in Sault Ste. Marie — has been appointed as Canada’s new High Commissioner in New Zealand. The appointment was announced by Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs in mid-July.
“It still seems a little bit surreal to me but I’m really looking forward to the opportunity to serve Canada abroad," Smith told SooToday, in a phone interview from Ottawa. "I’m very humbled and grateful for the opportunity and I’m really excited to get started." Smith said his appointment will be complete when he arrives in New Zealand’s capital city of Wellington in the fall and his credentials are formally accepted by New Zealand’s government.
“It was quite a long application process. You need to go through many levels of approval at Global Affairs Canada so it took some time,” Smith said. Smith, 54, graduated from the University of Ottawa with a Bachelor of Arts degree in French Studies in 1997.
He has worked for the Public Service of Canada for nearly 30 years. He held various positions within Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada and, from 2013 to 2016, was the Canadian Human Rights Commission’s Policy, Research and International director. He also served as the CHRC’s Policy and Communications director general.
From 2016 to 2018, he worked for the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada as the director of policy and worked on several justice files including an Indigenous rights framework, the criminal justice system and inter.