Biographical notes – Diplomatic appointments

Jonathan Brasnett (BA [Political Science and East Asian Studies], McGill University, 2014; MA [Asia Pacific Policy Studies], University of British Columbia, 2016; PhD [Political Studies], University of Ottawa, 2021) joined Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada in 2015. He has served as special adviser to the ambassador at the Embassy to China, as a trade commissioner covering the consumer products sector and as the officer responsible for foreign direct investment and science, technology and innovation partnerships. He has also worked on sanctions policy and implementation, human rights and religious freedom and issues related to the Asia-Pacific region. 

Julie Crowley (LLB, Laval University, 1998; Certificate [Journalism], Laval University, 1999; MA [Political Science], University of Quebec in Montréal, 2003) joined the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in 2003. At Headquarters, she worked as legal adviser in environmental and oceans law from 2003 to 2005. She was also manager of corporate governance affairs from 2008 to 2010. Abroad, she worked extensively on African issues. She has had diplomatic assignments in Zambia, Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Ethiopia. In Ethiopia, her responsibilities focused on Canada’s relations with the African Union. From October 2019 to 2023, she was regional director of the International Development Research Centre’s Office for Central and West Africa, based in Senegal, with responsibility for 24 countries. Most recently, she was high commissioner in Rwanda and ambassador to Burundi.  

Marie-Andrée Lévesque (BA Hons [Political Science], University of Ottawa; Graduate Diploma [International Management], National School of Public Administration) joined Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada in 2007. Over the course of her 25 years with the Government of Canada, she has worked on a broad range of bilateral and multilateral trade policy issues and negotiations, including the negotiation of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement. She served abroad at the Embassy to China (2012 to 2015) and as counsellor at the Permanent Mission of Canada to the World Trade Organization in Geneva (2018 to 2023). Most recently, she served as the director of the Multilateral Trade Policy and Negotiations Division, including during Canada’s G7 presidency in 2025.