Poised for Partnership: Half-Century of Ties Lays Foundation for New Canadian Consul General

Canadian Consul General Rosaline Kwan arrived in Atlanta last fall, just as a wave of celebration was just starting to crest.

For nearly a year leading up to her appointment, America’s neighbor to the north had been celebrating a half-century of outreach in the South.

The Consulate General of Canada opened in Atlanta 50 years ago, through the decades building a solid political network and foundation in economic diplomacy that Ms. Kwan says she is fortunate to inherit.

“I’ve got very good base to build on, and I’m really appreciative of the work that my predecessors have done so well,” she told Global Atlanta in a December interview.

Ms. Kwan is the first “permanent” Canadian diplomat to be posted here in more than two years, coming on the back of those who were technically interim consuls general.

Still, former Consul General James Hill, who was here for about two years, led a series of celebrations in 2023 that included party on the Ponce City Market rooftop highlighting the continuity of one of the city’s oldest diplomatic missions.

Over coffee in her office at Colony Square in Midtown, Ms. Kwan said the sense of U.S.-Canada partnership is stronger than ever in an age of shifting supply chains, as governments enact policies to encourage local manufacturing and companies see producing near their customers as key to their own resiliency.

Canada and the U.S. are prolific in making things together — particularly cars — but they also harbor some long-simmering trade disputes, and some worry that ascendant U.S. industrial policy could test the cohesion of the North American market.

“Buy American” provisions have long rankled Canada, forcing firms bidding for U.S. government contracts to duplicate their manufacturing infrastructure on both sides of the border, adding to their costs and raising prices.

Ms. Kwan, a Chinese speaker (native Cantonese and trained in Mandarin) who has held trade-focused postings in China, India and Taiwan, is well acquainted with the way companies are engaging with Asia while also focusing on reorienting their operations for a new era of competition.

Within that framework, she believes there is ample room for the U.S. and Canada to lean into their complementarity on items like energy, critical minerals, batteries, technology and more.

Even in her short time here in the South, she has already been part of discussions on using Ontario technology to build small modular nuclear reactors in Tennessee and growing life sciences and fintech collaborations in Georgia. As the electric-vehicle sector grows across the Southern region now being called the Battery Belt, she sees even more promise for the neighbors to work together to ensure batteries are produced sustainably.

“I hope that we can find areas where we can partner,” she said the new supply-chain equation. “There are going to be key elements that will be produced, generated, shaped in the United States, but there could also be — and there will also be — key elements that are part of the supply chain in Canada as we have had for so many years, for example, in the auto sector.”

Ms. Kwan was heartened to see that for all of the six states that she covers — Georgia, Tennessee, both Carolinas, Alabama and Mississippi — Canada continues to be the largest export market. Canadian companies, she added, employ more than 100,000 people across the region.

“We’re very happy that the work that all the partners have put into it is showing up in results like that,” she said.

Before coming to Atlanta, Ms. Kwan worked in Canada’s Privy Council Office, which acts as the employer for the country’s public servants but also coordinates policies across federal departments and helps inform the prime minister and cabinet. It’s distinct from Global Affairs Canada, which handles the country’s international outreach through foreign aid and diplomacy.

Ms. Kwan was focused on foreign policy.

“I had the wonderful opportunity to be responsible for the Americas and the Indo-Pacific, so it was really, really interesting,” she said, noting her work on issues like trade policy and preparation for multilateral summits.

Atlanta offered an opportunity to represent her country in the Southeast U.S., an ascendant region both politically and economically in industries that are important for how the North American partners engage the world.

“The region continues to be very important in terms of the impact it has globally and the growth of its economies, population and its reach around the world,” Ms. Kwan said.

Culturally, Atlanta has also been fascinating, she said, given its impact on civil and human rights around the world and its role in the global dialogue on diversity and inclusion. Beyond taking in Hawks and Falcons games, Ms. Kwan has participated in the city’s Pride Parade and visited the Martin Luther King Jr. Center, The Carter Center and Fox Theatre.

In November, she had the particularly poignant experience of attending the tribute service at Emory University for Rosalynn Carter, the late wife of President Jimmy Carter.

The event crystallized the impact of the Georgia couple on the health and well-being of millions around the world, grounded in their view of human dignity and dedication to service, she said.

“It was just so touching. It celebrated her life. It wasn’t a sad event. It was: this is how much she contributed through her public service, her humanitarian work, through the push for mental health, global health and all that — and her partnership with her husband to make the world a more caring place.”

In a testament to Mrs. Carter’s impact, the event was attended by President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden along with other former presidents and first ladies.

“It was an event in itself because of all the people that attended. But at the same time for me, I felt really privileged to have had the opportunity to be part of it and just observe it,” she said.

Ms. Kwan is also grateful that her arrival in Atlanta is timed after the consulate completed some significant introspection and research about its achievements and position in the community, all in service of the 50-year anniversary commemorations.

“To me, it’s a great next start to build on that, and to look at how we can expand those areas and those partnerships and build up the relationship so we can have greater success for the next 50 years and more.”

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On May 30, Global Atlanta will host a Consular Conversation interview over lunch with Ms. Kwan at Miller & Martin PLLC in Midtown. Learn more about the event or sign up here >>