OTTAWA – U.S. President Barack Obama has chosen Bruce Heyman, a political fundraiser and businessman from Chicago, to be the new American ambassador to Canada.
The announcement came from the White House Thursday afternoon when Obama revealed his “intent to nominate” Heyman to the diplomatic post. The nomination must be confirmed by the U.S. Congress.
Heyman has been a partner at the investment firm of Goldman Sachs in Chicago, the same city that produced the last ambassador to Canada, David Jacobson.
Heyman’s nomination for the job had been rumoured since last April. He is an unknown in diplomatic circles but has an accomplished record in the private sector and was a tireless fundraiser for the president’s re-election.
Described in the Chicago Tribune as having worked in his early years as a snow shoveller, lawn mower and sandwich maker early in life, Heyman rose steadily through the ranks at Goldman Sachs, to oversee private wealth management in the American Midwest and part of Canada.
He told the newspaper in a 2009 interview that his experience recruiting at Goldman taught him “the value of overcommunication … you’ve got to communicate, communicate, communicate to the clients, to your team, to the leadership of the firm.”
Heyman and his wife, Vicki, were major fundraisers for Obama as members of his national finance committee. Together, they raised – or “bundled” – more than $1.1 million for the president in 2011 and 2012.
Jacobson was also a political supporter of Obama, and raised funds in the 2008 election.
Heyman, if confirmed by Congress, will arrive in Ottawa at a key time in Canada-U.S relations. It’s unknown if the White House will approve the proposed Keystone XL pipeline to the Gulf of Mexico – an initiative that has received the strong backing of the Harper government
In Ottawa, a spokesman for Prime Minister Stephen Harper responded to the news through a written statement.
“We look forward to working with Ambassador-Designate Heyman to continue to build on the strong relationship with the Obama Administration and advance shared priorities, including the creation of jobs and increased trade on both sides of the border,” said Stephen Lecce, deputy communications director for Harper.
Christopher Sands, a specialist in Canada-U.S. relations at the Hudson Institute, a think-tank in Washington D.C., said Heyman is typical of second-term ambassadors in that, much like former envoys David Wilkins and Gordon Giffin, he was likely appointed more for his involvement with the president’s election campaign than for any great connection to Canada.
“This is a chance to reward someone who has been a good supporter over the years,” Sands said.
Heyman’s close relationship with the president as a big fundraiser is key for ongoing Canada-U.S. relations, Sands said, because “he’s somebody the president will take a call from.”
Sands said a long list of new faces in key U.S. cabinet posts and a series of important ongoing cross border issues – such as the Keystone XL oilsands pipeline, Beyond the Border perimeter security plan, clean energy dialogue and Regulatory Cooperation Council – means the new ambassador will have to maintain momentum on the files.
He said he doubts the new envoy will alter the timeline for a decision on the Keystone XL project, expected in 2014, but gives Canada a much-needed voice to deliver the Canadian message to the president.
“Because (the pipeline) is at the State Department, an ambassador who takes an interest can not only keep a finger on the pulse, but keep everybody focused on the need to move forward,” Sands said.
NDP foreign affairs critic Paul Dewar also predicted that Heyman will carry influence in the Obama administration because of his past work as a fundraiser.
“It’s really a matter of having someone who has access and the ear of the president,” he said.
“As we all know, this is our most important relationship. We look forward to having a very open relationship.”
Dewar said that the new ambassador will have to work on joint plans to unclog the Canada-U.S. border of traffic.
Moreover, Keystone and its impact on climate change will clearly be a key issue.
“It took the Conservatives awhile to understand their record on the environment was undermining their own aspirations. They are late to the game on it. Anyone who comes out of Chicago (like Heyman) understands politics, and that will be important to smooth things out for the goals of the (Obama) administration.”
Dewar predicted that Heyman will work well with Gary Doer, the former Manitoba premier who is now Canada’s ambassador to Washington.
“I think one of the most important things in diplomacy is personal relationships. And I think you will find someone like Doer and him have a lot in common. And I think you will find they work the back channels.”
Dewar said it’s helpful that the next ambassador, like his predecessor, comes from Chicago. “They understand our weather and our culture.”
Moreover, he said Heyman’s roots will help build a personal rapport with his Canadian counterpart.
“You have to be open, understand the culture and the political terrain. As someone who comes from the mid-west, I think you’ll find he is like our ambassador in Washington. He has a good sense of the wider politics. He’s not going to be parochial.”
A recent Washington Post report said Heyman has undergone the State Department’s diplomatic “charm school.”
The apparent delay in nominating a replacement for Jacobsen,who left in July, sparked questions about whether the Obama administration was placing a low priority on Canada.
But one analyst said it will be tough for Canada to get Washington’s attention regardless of who represents its interests north of the border.
“We are the last G8 country to have an ambassadorial nominee,” said Fen Hampson, head of the global security program at the Centre for International Governance Innovation in Waterloo, Ont.
He said that shows “how low we are on the priority list for a country that is still the United States’ most important trading partner, and major supplier of energy. The good news is at least they did it before the end of the year.”
Maryscott Greenwood, of the Canadian American Business Council, flatly rejected the premise that there was an unusually long delay in nominating a replacement for Jacobson.
She called Heyman‘s appointment an “an inspired choice on the part of the president.”
Heyman, she added, has the ability to “take the ball and continue to advance the interests of our two countries at a crucial time.”
mkennedy@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/Mark_Kennedy_
– With a file from The Canadian Press.
Bruce Heyman at a glance:
– Managing director of private wealth management at Goldman Sachs & Co. in Chicago;
– He and his Vicki have been donating to U.S. President Barack Obama since 2007;
– Both Heymans served on Obama’s national finance committee in 2012 and helped raise millions for the president’s re-election campaign;
– Heyman, in his mid-50s, holds a B.A. and an M.B.A. from Vanderbilt University.
Related articles
- At what price a U.S. ambassadorship to Canada (o.canada.com)
- Next U.S. ambassador to Canada likely to be Chicago exec (cbc.ca)
- Obama fundraiser still in running to be next U.S. envoy to Canada, despite investment concerns (theglobeandmail.com)
- Canada without U.S. Ambassador as Keystone pipeline proposal drags on (globalnews.ca)
