Lawrence Cannon
Encyclopedia
Lawrence Cannon, PC
(born December 6, 1947) is a Canadian
politician from Quebec
and Prime Minister
Stephen Harper
's former Quebec lieutenant
. On October 30, 2008 he was sworn in as Minister of Foreign Affairs
. He was defeated in the 2011 federal election by the NDP's Mathieu Ravignat.
television broadcast pioneer Rosemary "Posie" Power, and the grandson of Lucien Cannon
and Charles Gavan Power
. He is also the grand-nephew of Lawrence Arthur Dumoulin Cannon
, a long-time Liberal politician and Supreme Court
judge. He is the great grandson of Sir Charles Fitzpatrick, defender of Louis Riel
and former Senior Minister in Laurier's cabinet. He is of Irish
and French Canadian
descent.
The extended Cannon family has had strong regional and national political influence in Canada for over a century and is considered to be influential as one of Canada's hereditary ruling class families, members having served in positions as lawyers, judges, Supreme Court judges, senators, ministers of defence, solicitors general, and members of parliament. They have had large influence in the national resource industries, as "barons" in the lumber industry particularly, as well as in broadcasting.
The most famous member of the family was Cannon's maternal grandfather, Charles "Chubby" Power
, a confidante and Minister of National Defence for Air
to Governor General
John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir in the Cabinet
of Prime Minister Mackenzie King.
while his mother was anglophone. He was educated at French speaking
public junior and high schools near Quebec City
and is bilingual
.
He graduated in political science
from the Université de Montréal
in 1971; and then worked for Liberal Premier
Robert Bourassa
as correspondence secretary, leaving in 1976 for higher academic studies. Cannon received an MBA from Université Laval
in 1979. He worked then in private sector as a financial analyst for Société de développement industriel until 1981; and then as head of Les Radiateurs Roy ltée from September 1981, to December 1985.
Cannon has been a long-time member of the Knights of Columbus.
for the provincial riding of La Peltrie
; and then served as Parliamentary Secretary: notably to the Minister of Foreign Trade and Technological Development,and then Tourism. From October 1990 to January 1994 he was minister for communications, and implemented the 911 emergency system as well as the Privacy Act within Quebec. He was also active with the federal Liberals
supporting Sheila Copps
(who as well later became Deputy Prime Minister of Canada
) in her attempt to win the federal 1990 Liberal leadership election won instead by Jean Chrétien
.
Canada Corp. during the AT&T takeover of the Canadian firm; and in other concerns between 1994 and 2001 primarily in the field of information technologies. Cannon then remarried; and took an interest in Quebec local politics building a new constituency.
for the city of Gatineau
in 2001, representing Hull
's Val-Tétreau District
, under mayor Yves Ducharme
. He served as president of the Société de Transport de l'Outaouais from January 2002 to November 2005, while at the same time he was appointed president of the Association du transport urbain du Québec. He had an especial sympathy for solving transport problems in Gatineau by road building rather than public transit approaches. During his mandate, the STO developed a BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) project called "Rapibus
", which is still pending. His association and ownership of Groupe Cannon and Associates, a consulting company in telecommunications, has received little attention, and this ownership is expected to be put in a blind trust
as is usual in federal politics.
in Quebec City.
Although Cannon and his family have historically supported the federal Liberals
, he switched to the Conservative Party of Canada
in the early 21st century. At the time his switch to the Conservative Party raised eyebrows among the political class and the media, which generally attributed the move to his inability to make an impression on the Liberal Party. On September 16, 2005, he was named deputy chief of staff and deputy executive director of the Conservative Party. He was also named as Quebec lieutenant
to party leader Stephen Harper
.
He successfully ran as Conservative candidate in the riding of Pontiac
in the 2006 federal election
, beating incumbent Liberal M.P. David Smith
. Winning with 33.68% of the vote, Cannon gained support from traditional Liberal voters. The Liberals had held the riding and its predecessors for all but nine years since 1935, and the Conservative candidate had finished a distant third in 2004
with 22.15% of the vote.
On February 6, 2006, he was sworn in as Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities
. This portfolio includes Transport Canada
, Infrastructure Canada
, the Canadian Transportation Agency, the Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada and 16 Crown corporations.
Many pundits had predicted that Cannon would also be named Deputy Prime Minister of Canada
, but Harper chose not to retain that office. However, Cannon was first on the list of ministers designated to fill in for Harper if he is unable to perform his duties, making him Deputy Prime Minister in practice if not in name. This was further emphasized when Cannon seconded the pro forma
bill to start the first session of the 39th Canadian Parliament
; the bill is introduced before the House takes the Speech from the Throne
under consideration so as to maintain the right of the House to consider matters other than those directed to it by the crown. This bill is normally proposed by the Prime Minister and seconded by either the Deputy Prime Minister or the Government House Leader.
Following the 2008 federal election
, Cannon was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs
.
Cannon was one of the higher-ranking Red Tories
in the Harper cabinet.
He has denied diplomat Richard Colvin
's claim that Afghan prisoners transferred from the Canadian forces to the Afghan police were tortured.
Cannon was roundly defeated in the 2011 election by NDP challenger Mathieu Ravignat, winning only 29.5 percent of the vote. His place as Minister of Foreign Affairs was taken by John Baird
.
On September 18, 2008, during the 40th Canadian federal election
, Cannon was campaigning in Maniwaki, Quebec, when a group of protesters from the divided native community of Barriere Lake showed up to outline their demands. After Cannon left, Cannon's assistant Darlene Lannigan said to protestor Norman Matchewan, "If you behave and you're sober and there's no problems and if you don't do a sit down and whatever, I don't care." She then added: "One of them showed up the other day and was drinking."
In April 2009, Cannon falsely suggested that Omar Khadr
had built explosives to attack Canadian soldiers.
In June 2009, after asked whether the Canadian government will "choose not to abandon Ronald Smith, a Canadian who has on death row in Montana for over 25 years." Cannon aswered "(...) I will be very clear on this, clemency is not an obligation. It must be earned. We will study each appeal for clemency individually.
's constitutionally guaranteed right to return to Canada from the Sudan by failing to issue an emergency passport. In so ruling the Court states at para 152:
The Court found that on April 3, 2009, Cannon refused an emergency passport to Abdelrazik without observing any of the guidelines established by his own department. Justice Zinn also found that "Had it been necessary to determine whether the breach was done in bad faith, I would have had no hesitation making that finding on the basis of the record before me."
On September 21, 2009, Abdelrazik sued Cannon for $3-million alleging misfeaseance in public office, intentional infliction of mental suffering, and violation of Abdelrazik's constitutional rights under ss 6, 7 & 12 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. On August 30, 2010, the Federal Court refused a motion by Canadian government lawyers seeking to prevent the suit against Cannon from proceeding.
Queen's Privy Council for Canada
The Queen's Privy Council for Canada ), sometimes called Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council, is the full group of personal consultants to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs, though responsible government requires the sovereign or her viceroy,...
(born December 6, 1947) is a Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
politician from Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
and Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
Stephen Harper
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...
's former Quebec lieutenant
Quebec lieutenant
In Canadian politics, a Quebec lieutenant is a politician, from Quebec, usually a francophone and most often a Member of Parliament or at least a current or former candidate for Parliament, who is selected by a senior politician such as the Prime Minister or the leader of a national federal party,...
. On October 30, 2008 he was sworn in as Minister of Foreign Affairs
Minister of Foreign Affairs (Canada)
The Minister of Foreign Affairs is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for overseeing the federal government's international relations section of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada....
. He was defeated in the 2011 federal election by the NDP's Mathieu Ravignat.
Genealogy
Cannon is the son of government lawyer Louis Cannon and QuebecQuebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
television broadcast pioneer Rosemary "Posie" Power, and the grandson of Lucien Cannon
Lucien Cannon
Lucien Cannon, was a Canadian lawyer and politician.Born in Arthabaska, Quebec, the son of Lawrence John Cannon and Aurélie Dumoulin, he studied law at the Laval University and was called to the Quebec Bar in 1910. His brother was Lawrence Arthur Dumoulin Cannon, a puisne judge of the Supreme...
and Charles Gavan Power
Charles Gavan Power
Charles Gavan "Chubby" Power, MC, PC was a Canadian politician and athlete. Power's father, William Power, was also a Member of Parliament from Quebec, retiring in 1917...
. He is also the grand-nephew of Lawrence Arthur Dumoulin Cannon
Lawrence Arthur Dumoulin Cannon
Lawrence Arthur Dumoulin Cannon was a Canadian lawyer, politician, and Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada....
, a long-time Liberal politician and Supreme Court
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeals in the Canadian justice system. The court grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants each year to appeal decisions rendered by provincial, territorial and federal appellate courts, and its decisions...
judge. He is the great grandson of Sir Charles Fitzpatrick, defender of Louis Riel
Louis Riel
Louis David Riel was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political and spiritual leader of the Métis people of the Canadian prairies. He led two resistance movements against the Canadian government and its first post-Confederation Prime Minister, Sir John A....
and former Senior Minister in Laurier's cabinet. He is of Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
and French Canadian
French Canadian
French Canadian or Francophone Canadian, , generally refers to the descendents of French colonists who arrived in New France in the 17th and 18th centuries...
descent.
The extended Cannon family has had strong regional and national political influence in Canada for over a century and is considered to be influential as one of Canada's hereditary ruling class families, members having served in positions as lawyers, judges, Supreme Court judges, senators, ministers of defence, solicitors general, and members of parliament. They have had large influence in the national resource industries, as "barons" in the lumber industry particularly, as well as in broadcasting.
The most famous member of the family was Cannon's maternal grandfather, Charles "Chubby" Power
Charles Gavan Power
Charles Gavan "Chubby" Power, MC, PC was a Canadian politician and athlete. Power's father, William Power, was also a Member of Parliament from Quebec, retiring in 1917...
, a confidante and Minister of National Defence for Air
Minister of National Defence (Canada)
The Minister of National Defence is a Minister of the Crown; the Canadian politician within the Cabinet of Canada responsible for the Department of National Defence which oversees the Canadian Forces....
to Governor General
Governor General of Canada
The Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II...
John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir in the Cabinet
Cabinet of Canada
The Cabinet of Canada is a body of ministers of the Crown that, along with the Canadian monarch, and within the tenets of the Westminster system, forms the government of Canada...
of Prime Minister Mackenzie King.
Early life
Cannon's father was francophoneFrancophone
The adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....
while his mother was anglophone. He was educated at French speaking
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
public junior and high schools near Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
and is bilingual
Multilingualism
Multilingualism is the act of using, or promoting the use of, multiple languages, either by an individual speaker or by a community of speakers. Multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. Multilingualism is becoming a social phenomenon governed by the needs of...
.
He graduated in political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
from the Université de Montréal
Université de Montréal
The Université de Montréal is a public francophone research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It comprises thirteen faculties, more than sixty departments and two affiliated schools: the École Polytechnique and HEC Montréal...
in 1971; and then worked for Liberal Premier
Premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in some countries and states.-Examples by country:In many nations, "premier" is used interchangeably with "prime minister"...
Robert Bourassa
Robert Bourassa
Jean-Robert Bourassa, was a politician in Quebec, Canada. He served as the 22nd Premier of Quebec in two different mandates, first from May 12, 1970, to November 25, 1976, and then from December 12, 1985, to January 11, 1994, serving a total of just under 15 years as Provincial Premier.-Early...
as correspondence secretary, leaving in 1976 for higher academic studies. Cannon received an MBA from Université Laval
Université Laval
Laval University is the oldest centre of education in Canada and was the first institution in North America to offer higher education in French...
in 1979. He worked then in private sector as a financial analyst for Société de développement industriel until 1981; and then as head of Les Radiateurs Roy ltée from September 1981, to December 1985.
Cannon has been a long-time member of the Knights of Columbus.
Provincial political career
Cannon then was elected in 1985 as a member of the Quebec Liberal Party to the National Assembly of QuebecNational Assembly of Quebec
The National Assembly of Quebec is the legislative body of the Province of Quebec. The Lieutenant Governor and the National Assembly compose the Parliament of Quebec, which operates in a fashion similar to those of other British-style parliamentary systems.The National Assembly was formerly the...
for the provincial riding of La Peltrie
La Peltrie
La Peltrie is a provincial electoral district in Quebec, Canada that elects members to the National Assembly of Quebec. The riding was created in 1980 from a part of Chauveau...
; and then served as Parliamentary Secretary: notably to the Minister of Foreign Trade and Technological Development,and then Tourism. From October 1990 to January 1994 he was minister for communications, and implemented the 911 emergency system as well as the Privacy Act within Quebec. He was also active with the federal Liberals
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
supporting Sheila Copps
Sheila Copps
Sheila Maureen Copps, PC is a former Canadian politician who also served as Deputy Prime Minister of Canada from November 4, 1993 to April 30, 1996 and June 19, 1996 to June 11, 1997....
(who as well later became Deputy Prime Minister of Canada
Deputy Prime Minister of Canada
The Deputy Prime Minister of Canada is an honorary position in the cabinet, conferred at the discretion of the prime minister. There is currently, , no deputy prime minister....
) in her attempt to win the federal 1990 Liberal leadership election won instead by Jean Chrétien
Jean Chrétien
Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien , known commonly as Jean Chrétien is a former Canadian politician who was the 20th Prime Minister of Canada. He served in the position for over ten years, from November 4, 1993 to December 12, 2003....
.
Private sector work
Cannon worked in private industry as vice-president of Unitel; now AT&TAT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
Canada Corp. during the AT&T takeover of the Canadian firm; and in other concerns between 1994 and 2001 primarily in the field of information technologies. Cannon then remarried; and took an interest in Quebec local politics building a new constituency.
Constituency building in local politics
Cannon was elected as councillorCity council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...
for the city of Gatineau
Gatineau
Gatineau is a city in western Quebec, Canada. It is the fourth largest city in the province. It is located on the northern banks of the Ottawa River, immediately across from Ottawa, Ontario, and together they form Canada's National Capital Region. Ottawa and Gatineau comprise a single Census...
in 2001, representing Hull
Hull, Quebec
Hull is the central and oldest part of the city of Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. It is located on the west bank of the Gatineau River and the north shore of the Ottawa River, directly opposite Ottawa. As part of the Canadian National Capital Region, it contains offices for twenty thousand...
's Val-Tétreau District
Val-Tétreau District
The Val-Tétreau District is a municipal district in the city of Gatineau, Quebec. It is represented on Gatineau City Council by Alain Pilon.The district is located in the Hull sector of the city...
, under mayor Yves Ducharme
Yves Ducharme
Yves Ducharme was the mayor of Hull, Québec, in the Outaouais region, from 1992 to 2002 and from 2002 to 2005 mayor of Gatineau after the city had been merged with its neighbours, part of the supra-organization the Communauté Urbaine de l'Outaouais. He was defeated in an election in 2005 by Marc...
. He served as president of the Société de Transport de l'Outaouais from January 2002 to November 2005, while at the same time he was appointed president of the Association du transport urbain du Québec. He had an especial sympathy for solving transport problems in Gatineau by road building rather than public transit approaches. During his mandate, the STO developed a BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) project called "Rapibus
Rapibus
The Rapibus is a planned and approved bus-only roadway for the Société de Transport de l'Outaouais in the city of Gatineau, Quebec. The project aims to speed up the service for commuters in growing sub-divisions in the northern and eastern areas of the city by alleviating the congestion on key...
", which is still pending. His association and ownership of Groupe Cannon and Associates, a consulting company in telecommunications, has received little attention, and this ownership is expected to be put in a blind trust
Blind trust
A blind trust is a trust in which the fiduciaries, namely the trustees or those who have been given power of attorney, have full discretion over the assets, and the trust beneficiaries have no knowledge of the holdings of the trust and no right to intervene in their handling...
as is usual in federal politics.
Foreign policy initiatives
Cannon travelled extensively in Europe and the Americas both in and out of public life. In 2001, Cannon was appointed to the Board of the World Commerce Institute, and then as President and General Manager of AmeriContact for the Quebec City Summit of the AmericasQuebec City Summit of the Americas
The 3rd Summit of the Americas was a summit held in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, on April 20--22, 2001.This international meeting was a round of negotiations regarding a proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas...
in Quebec City.
Present activities
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
, he switched to the Conservative Party of Canada
Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...
in the early 21st century. At the time his switch to the Conservative Party raised eyebrows among the political class and the media, which generally attributed the move to his inability to make an impression on the Liberal Party. On September 16, 2005, he was named deputy chief of staff and deputy executive director of the Conservative Party. He was also named as Quebec lieutenant
Quebec lieutenant
In Canadian politics, a Quebec lieutenant is a politician, from Quebec, usually a francophone and most often a Member of Parliament or at least a current or former candidate for Parliament, who is selected by a senior politician such as the Prime Minister or the leader of a national federal party,...
to party leader Stephen Harper
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...
.
He successfully ran as Conservative candidate in the riding of Pontiac
Pontiac (electoral district)
Pontiac is a federal electoral district in south-western Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1949 and since 1968....
in the 2006 federal election
Canadian federal election, 2006
The 2006 Canadian federal election was held on January 23, 2006, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 39th Parliament of Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada won the greatest number of seats: 40.3% of seats, or 124 out of 308, up from 99 seats in 2004, and 36.3% of votes:...
, beating incumbent Liberal M.P. David Smith
David Smith (Quebec politician)
David Smith is a Canadian politician.A former member of the Canadian House of Commons, Smith served as a city councillor in Maniwaki, Quebec until 2004. At this point, he ran in the Canadian federal election, 2004 for the Liberal Party of Canada in the riding of Pontiac where he won...
. Winning with 33.68% of the vote, Cannon gained support from traditional Liberal voters. The Liberals had held the riding and its predecessors for all but nine years since 1935, and the Conservative candidate had finished a distant third in 2004
Canadian federal election, 2004
The Canadian federal election, 2004 , was held on June 28, 2004 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 38th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin lost its majority, but was able to form a minority government after the elections...
with 22.15% of the vote.
On February 6, 2006, he was sworn in as Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities
Minister of Transport (Canada)
The Minister of Transport is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for overseeing the federal government's transportation regulatory and development department, Transport Canada...
. This portfolio includes Transport Canada
Transport Canada
Transport Canada is the department within the government of Canada which is responsible for developing regulations, policies and services of transportation in Canada. It is part of the Transportation, Infrastructure and Communities portfolio...
, Infrastructure Canada
Infrastructure Canada
Infrastructure Canada is part of the Transport, Infrastructure and Communities portfolio of the Government of Canada. Established in August 2002, the organization was formerly associated with Treasury Board Secretariat, the Privy Council Office, Industry Canada, and Environment Canada...
, the Canadian Transportation Agency, the Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada and 16 Crown corporations.
Many pundits had predicted that Cannon would also be named Deputy Prime Minister of Canada
Deputy Prime Minister of Canada
The Deputy Prime Minister of Canada is an honorary position in the cabinet, conferred at the discretion of the prime minister. There is currently, , no deputy prime minister....
, but Harper chose not to retain that office. However, Cannon was first on the list of ministers designated to fill in for Harper if he is unable to perform his duties, making him Deputy Prime Minister in practice if not in name. This was further emphasized when Cannon seconded the pro forma
Pro forma
The term pro forma is a term applied to practices or documents that are done as a pure formality, perfunctory, or seek to satisfy the minimum requirements or to conform to a convention or doctrine...
bill to start the first session of the 39th Canadian Parliament
39th Canadian Parliament
The 39th Canadian Parliament was in session from April 3, 2006 until September 7, 2008. The membership was set by the 2006 federal election on January 23, 2006, and it has changed only somewhat due to resignations and by-elections...
; the bill is introduced before the House takes the Speech from the Throne
Speech from the Throne
A speech from the throne is an event in certain monarchies in which the reigning sovereign reads a prepared speech to a complete session of parliament, outlining the government's agenda for the coming session...
under consideration so as to maintain the right of the House to consider matters other than those directed to it by the crown. This bill is normally proposed by the Prime Minister and seconded by either the Deputy Prime Minister or the Government House Leader.
Following the 2008 federal election
Canadian federal election, 2008
The 2008 Canadian federal election was held on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 40th Canadian Parliament after the previous parliament had been dissolved by the Governor General on September 7, 2008...
, Cannon was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs
Minister of Foreign Affairs (Canada)
The Minister of Foreign Affairs is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for overseeing the federal government's international relations section of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada....
.
Cannon was one of the higher-ranking Red Tories
Red Tory
A red Tory is an adherent of a particular political philosophy, tradition, and disposition in Canada somewhat similar to the High Tory tradition in the United Kingdom; it is contrasted with "blue Tory". In Canada, the phenomenon of "red toryism" has fundamentally, if not exclusively, been found in...
in the Harper cabinet.
He has denied diplomat Richard Colvin
Richard Colvin (diplomat)
Richard Colvin is a Canadian diplomat who gained public attention as a witness in the Canadian Afghan detainee issue. He appeared before the Special Committee on the Canadian Mission in Afghanistan in late 2009 where he discussed a signed affidavit alleging that Afghan detainees turned over to...
's claim that Afghan prisoners transferred from the Canadian forces to the Afghan police were tortured.
Cannon was roundly defeated in the 2011 election by NDP challenger Mathieu Ravignat, winning only 29.5 percent of the vote. His place as Minister of Foreign Affairs was taken by John Baird
John Baird (Canadian politician)
John Russell Baird, PC, MP is a Canadian politician currently serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the cabinet of Prime Minister Stephen Harper....
.
Controversial remarks
Cannon and his campaign have been noted for gaffes and poor responses to off the cuff questions regarding policy.On September 18, 2008, during the 40th Canadian federal election
40th Canadian federal election
The 2008 Canadian federal election was held on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 40th Canadian Parliament after the previous parliament had been dissolved by the Governor General on September 7, 2008...
, Cannon was campaigning in Maniwaki, Quebec, when a group of protesters from the divided native community of Barriere Lake showed up to outline their demands. After Cannon left, Cannon's assistant Darlene Lannigan said to protestor Norman Matchewan, "If you behave and you're sober and there's no problems and if you don't do a sit down and whatever, I don't care." She then added: "One of them showed up the other day and was drinking."
In April 2009, Cannon falsely suggested that Omar Khadr
Omar Khadr
Omar Ahmed Khadr is a Canadian child soldier and one of the juveniles held at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. He was convicted of five charges under the United States Military Commissions Act of 2009 including murder in violation of the law of war and providing material support for terrorism,...
had built explosives to attack Canadian soldiers.
In June 2009, after asked whether the Canadian government will "choose not to abandon Ronald Smith, a Canadian who has on death row in Montana for over 25 years." Cannon aswered "(...) I will be very clear on this, clemency is not an obligation. It must be earned. We will study each appeal for clemency individually.
Abousfian Abdelrazik
In Abdelrazik v. Canada (Foreign Affairs), 2009 FC 580 (CanLII), Justice Zinn of the Federal Court of Canada found at para 153 of the judgment that Cannon and Canada violated Abousfian AbdelrazikAbousfian Abdelrazik
Abousfian Abdelrazik or Abu Sufian Abd Al-Razziq is a Sudanese-born Canadian dual citizen. On July 23, 2006 the United States Department of the Treasury designated him as a supporter of al-Qaeda and a terrorist, but he was subsequently cleared in multiple investigations by the Sudanese...
's constitutionally guaranteed right to return to Canada from the Sudan by failing to issue an emergency passport. In so ruling the Court states at para 152:
In my view, where a citizen is outside Canada, the Government of Canada has a positive obligation to issue an emergency passport to that citizen to permit him or her to enter Canada; otherwise, the right guaranteed by the Government of Canada in subsection 6(1) of the Charter is illusory. Where the Government refuses to issue that emergency passport, it is a prima facie breach of the citizen’s Charter rights unless the Government justifies its refusal pursuant to section 1 of the Charter.
The Court found that on April 3, 2009, Cannon refused an emergency passport to Abdelrazik without observing any of the guidelines established by his own department. Justice Zinn also found that "Had it been necessary to determine whether the breach was done in bad faith, I would have had no hesitation making that finding on the basis of the record before me."
On September 21, 2009, Abdelrazik sued Cannon for $3-million alleging misfeaseance in public office, intentional infliction of mental suffering, and violation of Abdelrazik's constitutional rights under ss 6, 7 & 12 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. On August 30, 2010, the Federal Court refused a motion by Canadian government lawyers seeking to prevent the suit against Cannon from proceeding.