People

Representing Canada at the UN

Her international career began at Interpol, looking into cases of art theft and money laundering. Now Louise Blais, BA’88, is Canada’s new junior ambassador at the UN, where she will be a key player for her country at the world’s most prominent global organization.

Story by Judith Ritter, MA'72

November 2017

On her first day of work at her new job, Louise Blais, BA’88, noticed a lot of familiar faces in the building.

Familiar as in faces that pop up regularly in the New York Times or on BBC.

Blais is Canada’s new ambassador and deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, and her first day coincided with the launch of the 72nd session of the General Assembly – 193 heads of state were in attendance.

“We have amazing staff at the UN and they had me covered so I was able to at least not look like a complete novice,” Blais says with characteristic good humour. She is particularly grateful to Canada’s minister of international development Marie-Claude Bibeau for ensuring that all went smoothly as they navigated their way through endless security check points to rounds of meetings.

Blais will be a key player for Canada on the international scene, tasked with presenting, explaining and defending what she describes as “Canada’s very active engagement” with world issues.

Her current position at the UN’s headquarters in New York is a punctuation mark on a colourful international career that has seen her work in such major capitals as Washington, Tokyo and Paris, doing everything from exploring the dark world of art thievery to quietly conducting high-level diplomacy.

It wasn’t the career path she originally envisaged. The Quebec City-born Blais, who studied art history at McGill, initially had her mind set on becoming an archeologist. An insightful professor put an end to that idea. “You have to think of archeology as kneeling with a little broom in the desert,” he said. “Does that sound like you?”

It absolutely did not, Blais acknowledged, remembering that moment with a chuckle. “And so I switched. He did me a favour. I’m much more of a people person and thrive in environments where I can interact with people.”

McGill taught her something else about herself that proved to be invaluable for her future pursuits – Blais is a skilled negotiator. She learned that by talking professors into allowing her to improve her marks by taking on independent study projects. One of those projects – doing research into art forgery at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts – helped launch her on her international job path.

Soon after graduating from McGill, Blais landed a job as an art theft analyst with Interpol. The work took her into the seamy terrain of fraud and theft “very much interwoven with international organized crime and laundered money.”

Her next job, at the National Archives of Canada, also involved art. There she managed the National Archives Development Program, while also shepherding Canada’s documentary art treasures as they travelled to museums around the world.

While setting up an exhibit at the Washington, D.C. Embassy, she got to know fellow McGill grad Paul Frazer, BA’70, then the head of public affairs for the embassy. He suggested that she join the Washington team as a cultural counsellor. A new career in diplomacy took root.

The next stop was Tokyo, where she worked as the head of public affairs. She took delight in the precision of the protocol she experienced there and the level of elegance of the manners.

“You have this city of over 10 million people interact in such a respectful manner. It is something to behold.”

In Paris, where she served as minister-counsellor for political affairs and director of the Canadian Cultural Centre, she found herself preparing for an upcoming presidential election. Change was in the air – and diplomats have to deal with such possibilities delicately.

“You have to very, very diplomatically develop strong contacts on the other side,” Blais explains, “[but] not at the expense of offending the sitting government, with whom you’re working with right now.”

She feels that she and her team were successful. “On the day of the transition of power between President Sarkozy and President Hollande, we had [good relationships] in place with President Hollande and his team.”

More recently, as Canada’s consul-general for Atlanta, she walked a diplomatic tight rope as American trade policy shifted dramatically in the aftermath of the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Diplomats, Blais suggests, are essentially quick-change artists. They reinvent themselves, learning new jobs, new rules, new issues. A new posting often means moving to an unfamiliar country. “You have to throw yourself out there outside your comfort zone every four years.”

She sees the UN as her biggest challenge yet.

As her country’s deputy permanent representative to the UN, much of Blais’s time will be spent on files related to sustainable development and gender equality. She will also play an important role in supporting Canada’s campaign for a seat on the UN Security Council.

“For a country like us to make an impact requires discipline, astute thinking and,” she adds, “stamina.”

She plays tennis to help fuel that stamina. She also practices yoga (and is even a yoga instructor). She says that returning to Montreal from time to time is one of the most restorative things of all.

“It’s a city that just ‘is.’ It’s not trying to be anything. It’s just authentic,” she says with a hint of nostalgia. When in town, her first and last stops are at St. Viateur Bagel. “Nowadays the world is globalized,” says Blais. “But you cannot get a fresh bagel anywhere like you can at St. Viateur Bagel.”

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