List of ambassadors of Canada to Russia

The ambassador of Canada to Russia is the official representative of the Canadian government to the government of Russia. The official title for the ambassador is the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Canada to the Russian Federation. The ambassador of Canada to Russia is Sarah Taylor who was appointed on the advice of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on November 9, 2023.^[1]

Ambassador of Canada to Russia
Incumbent Sarah Taylor since November 9, 2023
Seat	Embassy of Canada
Nominator	Prime Minister of Canada
Appointer	Governor General of Canada
Term length	At His Majesty's pleasure
Inaugural holder	L. Dana Wilgress
Formation	October 5, 1942

The Embassy of Canada is located at Starokonyushennyy Pereulok, 23, Moscow, Russia, 119002.

History of diplomatic relations

Main article: Canada–Russia relations

Canada and the USSR had de facto diplonmatic recognition on July 3, 1992, and de jure diplomatic recornition on March 4, 1924.^[2] Diplomatic relations between Canada and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was established on June 12, 1942.^[2] L. Dana Wilgress was appointed as Canada's first Envoy on October 5, 1942, and first ambassador on December 9, 1943.^[2]

The USSR was dissolved on December 26, 1991, and Canada recognized the Russian Federation as the continuation of the USSR.^[3] Michael Richard Bell continued in the role of Ambassador until his replacement with Jeremy K.B. Kinsman on August 27, 1992.

Ambassadors of Canada to Russia

No.	Name	Term of office			Career	Prime Minister nominated by		Ref.
		Start Date	PoC.	End Date
1	Michael Richard Bell	September 12, 1990		December 17, 1992	Career		Brian Mulroney (1984–1993)
2	Jeremy K.B. Kinsman	August 27, 1992		1996	Career
3	Anne Leahy	June 3, 1996	September 26, 1996	1999	Career		Jean Chrétien (1993–2003)
4	Rodney Irwin	August 11, 1999	December 16, 1999	August 1, 2003	Career
5	Chris Westdal	July 15, 2003	October 13, 2003	July 28, 2006	Career
6	Ralph Lysyshyn	June 14, 2006	November 16, 2006	August 21, 2010	Career		Stephen Harper (2006–2015)
7	John Sloan	August 25, 2010	October 18, 2010	September 20, 2013	Career
8	John Kur	August 16, 2013	January 16, 2014	August 18, 2018	Career
	Stéphane Jobin (Chargé)	August 18, 2018	October 15, 2019	October 2020	Career
9	Alison LeClaire	October 15, 2019	February 5, 2020	November 30, 2023	Career		Justin Trudeau (2015–Present)	[4]
10	Sarah Taylor	November 9, 2023	November 5, 2024		Career			[1]

Ambassadors of Canada to the Soviet Union (1944–1992)

No.	Name	Term of office			Career	Prime Minister nominated by		Ref.
		Start Date	PoC.	End Date
–	Leolyn Dana Wilgress	October 5, 1942	March 28, 1943	February 29, 1944	Career		W. L. Mackenzie King (1935–1948)
1	Leolyn Dana Wilgress	December 9, 1943	February 29, 1944	April 8, 1947	Career
–	Léon Mayrand (Chargé d'Affaires)	April 1945		March 1947	Career
–	Robert Arthur Douglass Ford (Chargé d'Affaires)	April 8, 1947		November 4, 1947	Career
–	John Wendell Holmes (Chargé d'Affaires)	November 4, 1947		August 31, 1948	Career
–	John Watkins (Chargé d'Affaires)	September 1, 1948		February 15, 1951	Career
–	Robert Arthur Douglass Ford (Chargé d'Affaires)	February 15, 1951		April 12, 1954	Career		Louis St. Laurent (1948–1957)
2	John Watkins	January 14, 1954		April 15, 1956	Career
3	David Moffat Johnson	April 4, 1956	July 27, 1956		Career
4	Arnold Cantwell Smith	October 14, 1960	February 25, 1961	August 30, 1963	Career		John G. Diefenbaker (1957–1963)
5	Robert Arthur Douglass Ford	January 10, 1964	January 23, 1964	September 1, 1980	Career		Lester B. Pearson (1963–1968)
6	Geoffrey Pearson	July 10, 1980	October 29, 1980		Career		Pierre Elliott Trudeau (1968–1979) (1980–1984)
7	Peter McLaren Roberts	October 13, 1983	October 26, 1983		Career
8	Vernon George Turner	December 5, 1985	February 19, 1986	1990	Career		Brian Mulroney (1984–1993)
9	Michael Richard Bell	September 12, 1990	November 5, 1990	December 17, 1992	Career

See also

• Canada–Russia relations
• Embassy of Canada in Moscow