Sault native appointed to top diplomatic post in New Zealand

Keith Smith — born and raised in Sault Ste. Marie — has been appointed as Canada’s new High Commissioner in New Zealand.

The appointment was announced by Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs in mid-July.

“It still seems a little bit surreal to me but I’m really looking forward to the opportunity to serve Canada abroad," Smith told SooToday, in a phone interview from Ottawa. "I’m very humbled and grateful for the opportunity and I’m really excited to get started."

Smith said his appointment will be complete when he arrives in New Zealand’s capital city of Wellington in the fall and his credentials are formally accepted by New Zealand’s government.

“It was quite a long application process. You need to go through many levels of approval at Global Affairs Canada so it took some time,” Smith said.

Smith, 54, graduated from the University of Ottawa with a Bachelor of Arts degree in French Studies in 1997.

He has worked for the Public Service of Canada for nearly 30 years.

He held various positions within Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada and, from 2013 to 2016, was the Canadian Human Rights Commission’s Policy, Research and International director. He also served as the CHRC’s Policy and Communications director general. From 2016 to 2018, he worked for the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada as the director of policy and worked on several justice files including an Indigenous rights framework, the criminal justice system and international human rights.

With Justice Canada since 2021, he has worked to achieve the objectives of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Smith is a member of Thessalon First Nation.

He visited New Zealand on one previous occasion in 2016, accompanying then-Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould on an official government visit to the country. Smith accompanied Wilson-Raybould on visits to the New Zealand cities of Wellington, Auckland and Christchurch as well as Maori communities.

Smith, interestingly, is not the first Sault native to be appointed as Canada’s High Commissioner in New Zealand.

That post was held by Sault native Mario Bot from 2015 to 2021, the two men meeting during Smith’s 2016 visit.

“I really gained an appreciation for the country and its natural beauty,” Smith said.      

He will also be representing Canada on visits to surrounding Pacific Ocean island nations which benefit from international assistance from Canada.

“I have experience attending a lot of United Nations meetings over the years. Diplomacy and negotiating with other countries is incredibly important so I think that experience with the United Nations will lend itself well to my new role. There will be some primary priorities like international trade and international security and providing consular affairs services to Canadians in New Zealand," Smith said.

Canada — along with the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia and New Zealand — is a member of the Five Eyes, a group of Anglophone nations that share information in an intelligence alliance.

“That will be one of my responsibilities and I will be supported by a team of experts in these areas. The Department of National Defence, for example, has an official located at the mission in New Zealand so there will be some really good expertise I’ll be able to rely on,” Smith said.

Solutions to the housing crisis will also be a topic of discussion between Smith and the New Zealand government.

The country has some of the least affordable houses in the world as a result of a housing shortage.

“It is indeed (a concern in New Zealand as well). We are not alone,” Smith said.

Smith is eager to speak with the New Zealand government about Indigenous affairs.

“I am the first Indigenous person to be appointed as the Canadian High Commissioner to New Zealand and I really think it’s important that people know that I will be bringing my Ojibway values to the work I’ll be undertaking. That’s my mother’s side of the family and I’ve always tried to incorporate the Seven Grandfather teachings including respect into my leadership style. There’s a lot of diplomacy that you can bring from the traditional Ojibway values into the work that you do.”

“Indigenous issues are a priority for me. I’ll bring that to my position in New Zealand because 15 per cent of the population is Maori. I’ve had some really wonderful experiences over the years working on a variety of issues but one thing I’m very proud of is my work on the implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,” Smith said.

The Declaration, passed by the UN in 2007, guarantees the rights of Indigenous peoples to maintain their languages, cultural practices and religions and also to strengthen their economies, social and political institutions.

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act was passed in Canada in 2021.

“Over the past three years, that has been my focus, developing in partnership with Indigenous peoples an action plan to implement the UN declaration. I’m quite proud of the work my team and I have done on that,” Smith said.

Smith will serve a four-year term as High Commissioner and will be granted an official residence, office and approximately 15 staff members in Wellington.

Smith said he will miss curling but added with a chuckle that he is looking forward to learning about rugby as he takes up his New Zealand post in the fall.

A St. Mary’s College graduate, Smith was a member of the Sault Figure Skating Club and remembers the old Memorial Gardens.

“I spent a lot of mornings there training. I skated from when I was nine to when I was 17. I spent a lot of time at the rink for sure.”

“I’ve been in Ottawa for the majority of my life but I still consider the Sault my home of course. It’s where I was born and grew up. All of my family’s there and I visit quite often,” Smith said.

SooToday learned of Smith’s appointment from his cousin Dawn Bellerose of Sault Ste. Marie.

“We come from a close-knit family," Bellerose said. "We grew up together. I consider him my youngest brother. I’m thrilled about this next adventure for him."