The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today named Tom Clark as the Consul General of Canada in New York.
Tom was the chair of Global Public Affairs and one of Canada’s most respected journalists.
In his more than 45 years in Canadian journalism, Tom Clark covered politics, war, revolutions and economics from more than a dozen countries, eventually rising to the most senior levels of journalism in Canada. He has developed a deep understanding of Canada’s position in an increasingly complicated international dynamic.
His time as a journalist allowed him front-row access to events that have shaped the country and the world. He was in Berlin as the wall fell; he was in Moscow as the Soviet Union collapsed; he was in Tiananmen Square in Beijing; and he was the only Canadian journalist in the former Yugoslavia during the conflict in Kosovo. He was on the ground to witness both Gulf wars and twice went to Afghanistan to chronicle Canada’s role in that conflict.
Mr. Clark was posted to Beijing in the early 1980s. He was also posted to Washington, D.C., for the final term of former U.S. president George W. Bush and for the election of former U.S. president Barack Obama. Politics was part of his landscape. He hosted 2 national political talk shows: Power Play on CTV and The West Block on Global News.
During his time in journalism, he interviewed every prime minister since Lester B. Pearson and covered federal elections since 1974. His career was celebrated by the Radio Television Digital News Association with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
In 2017, Mr. Clark moved from journalism to the business world, becoming the chair of Global Public Affairs, Canada’s largest privately held public affairs company. Specializing in strategic communications, Mr. Clark helped guide some of the most senior ranks of Canadian business through critical public policy issues.
Also in 2017, the Government of Canada appointed Mr. Clark as chair of the Independent Advisory Committee for Appointments to the CBC/Radio-Canada Board of Directors.
However, wherever his travels have taken him, it is the Canadian North that is part of his soul. As a licensed floatplane pilot, he has flown hundreds of hours exploring the beauty and vastness of this country, as well as learning from its people. You can follow him on Twitter at @tomclarkGPA.
