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Ambassador

Kirsten Hillman

Kirsten Hillman has served as Canada’s Ambassador to the United States of America in Washington D.C. since 2020.

The first woman to be appointed to this position, Ambassador Hillman has stewarded the bilateral relationship through two administrations and the COVID-19 pandemic, managing a wide range of bilateral and global files, advocating for Canada’s interests, and advancing shared priorities.

Through her twenty-five-year career with the Government of Canada, Ambassador Hillman has held various senior diplomatic, policy, and legal positions at home and abroad. She has played critical roles in negotiating important trade agreements for Canada, including the modernization of the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and served as Canada’s Chief Negotiator for the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Prior to this, Ambassador Hillman practised law at the Department of Justice in Ottawa and at a private law firm in Montréal.

Ambassador Hillman grew up in Calgary and Winnipeg and holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Manitoba and Bachelors of Civil Law and of Common Law from McGill University. She also holds a Doctor of Laws – honoris causa – from the Royal Military College of Canada.

She was recognized in the Maclean’s magazine 2022 Power List – 50 Canadians who are forging paths, leading the debate and shaping how we think and live – and named one of Washington’s most powerful women by the Washingtonian in 2021 and 2023.

She is married and is the mother of two sons.

@KirstenHillmanA

Latest Posts

Joint Statement from the Ambassador of Canada to the United States, Kirsten Hillman, and the Ambassador of the United States to Canada, David L. Cohen, on the Elk-Kootenay watershed

In furtherance of the Joint Statement issued by Prime Minister Trudeau and President Biden on March 24, 2023, Canada and the United States have reached an understanding on next steps to further bilateral cooperation to reduce and mitigate the impacts of water pollution in the Elk-Kootenay watershed. Our two countries are committed to a collaborative, […]

March 11, 2024

Canada Day 2023 Message From Ambassador Kirsten Hillman

Hello, hello, hello! Happy Canada Day! Bonne fête du Canada tout le monde! Ç’est un grand plaisir de vous avoir ici avec nous, ici fait beau, on est ensemble, c’est un samedi, on mange bien. Thank you, everyone, for coming to join us today on this beautiful Saturday with your friends and your family. We’re […]

July 26, 2023

Between Two Maples

Ambassador Kirsten Hillman recently sat down with Major Kirk Sullivan, Assistant Canadian Forces Public Affairs Attaché, to discuss her role in leading Canada’s Mission in the United States, the moment she found out she would be named Ambassador, and her take on the pineapple on pizza debate.

October 19, 2022