Gordon Giffin, a former U.S. ambassador to Canada and now head of the Dentons law firm’s U.S. public policy and regulation practice, has been honored with a special medallion from the country’s head of state.
Governor General David Johnston awards the medallions to honorees who help advance the U.S.-Canada relationship. It was presented to Mr. Giffin by Consul General Louise Blais.
Mr. Giffin’s life has been uniquely interwoven with Canada. Born in Massachusetts, he left before his first birthday and spent 17 formative years north of the border.
He was appointed ambassador by U.S. President Bill Clinton and served from 1997-2001, becoming one of the few American envoys to have spent significant stints living in the country before their appointments. It was during the early years after Nafta tied the two markets together even more closely than under the Canada-U.S. free trade deal.
“For generations Canada has been a special part of my family heritage. The opportunity to represent my native country in my adopted country was the honor of my life. The receipt of the Governor General’s Medallion crystallizes in my mind how remarkable the relationship between our two countries is and how blessed I have been to be a small part of that dynamic,” Mr. Giffin said in a statement released by the consulate.
Ms. Blais said both countries were indebted to his service.
“We appreciate the strong links Ambassador Giffin has maintained to Canada. His service on the Canadian-American Business Council and the boards of several Canadian companies, along with his valuable perspective continue to strengthen the bonds between our nations,” she said.
The announcement comes just a few months after Mr. Johnston visited Atlanta to dole out two other medallions to former Georgia Department of Economic Development commissioner Craig Lesser and to another former ambassador: David Wilkins, who served from 2005-09 under George W. Bush. He is a partner at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP.
Mr. Giffin’s name surfaced in another context this week in Atlanta. At a luncheon on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a sweeping deal among 12 nations that some say renegotiates Nafta, Mayor Kasim Reed paraphrased Mr. Giffin’s assessment of the anti-trade rhetoric coming out of both major-party presidential candidates at the moment: “Candidates are anti-trade when they run for president, but they’re pro-trade when they become president.”
Mr. Reed, gleaning from a pre-event talk with Mr. Giffin, was speaking about the need for lawmakers to have the courage to pass the deal in Congress during the lame-duck session after the elections in November.
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