Liberal MP Bill Blair Resigning Seat, Will Become High Commissioner to UK

Liberal MP Bill Blair speaks during a press conference in Ottawa, on Oct. 23, 2025. The Canadian Press/Spencer Colby

Former Liberal cabinet minister Bill Blair has resigned his seat in the House of Commons as the prime minister announced he will be appointed Canada’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that he intends to appoint Blair as high commissioner in a Feb. 2 release from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). The update also noted that National Security and Intelligence Advisor Nathalie Drouin will be appointed as ambassador to France and Monaco.

“Bill Blair and Nathalie G. Drouin, with their deep backgrounds in defence, national security, and public policy, are uniquely qualified to help fulfil these missions with core allies at this vital time,” Carney said in a statement.

Blair is a former Toronto police chief and has represented the riding of Scarborough Southwest since 2015. Blair held several cabinet portfolios under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, including public safety and emergency preparedness.

Blair’s last ministerial post was overseeing the Department of National Defence, a position he held from 2023 until May 2025. Carney kept Blair in his post when he formed his first cabinet in March 2025, but removed him from cabinet in May 2025 after winning the election. Blair was replaced by David McGuinty.

During his time at defence, Blair oversaw the update to Canada’s defence strategy, released in 2024, and sought to address critical personnel shortfalls in the Canadian Armed Forces.

The high commissioner role is equivalent to that of an ambassador in Commonwealth countries, and centres on managing diplomatic relations and communications between governments as well as promoting trade, supporting Canadians abroad, and coordinating on political and security matters.

The PMO did not indicate specifically when Blair and Drouin will take their posts, only mentioning the appointments will become effective “this spring.”

Blair will be replacing Ralph Goodale, also a former Liberal cabinet minister, who was appointed to the role by Trudeau in 2021. Meanwhile, Drouin will replace former Liberal leader Stéphane Dion in France.

Drouin is the top security adviser to Carney and has been involved in high-stakes diplomacy, notably on the India file, as the Carney government sought to repair ties with New Delhi.

“Ms. Drouin has played a central leadership role in implementing Prime Minister Carney’s foreign policy strategy,” the PMO said.

Drouin was in India in September 2025 to meet with her counterpart Ajit Doval, saying afterward Ottawa and New Delhi were committed to “non-interference.” The relations between the two countries crashed after Trudeau accused India in 2023 of being involved in the assassination of a pro-Khalistan activist in B.C. India has denied the allegation.

Blair’s departure from the House of Commons further reduces the Liberals’ seat count as they sought to reach a majority in recent weeks by poaching opposition MPs.

Blair’s appointment to a diplomatic post comes on the heels of his former cabinet colleague Chrystia Freeland giving up her seat in the House of Commons on Jan. 9. Freeland has taken a position as an economic adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Freeland’s departure reduced the Liberals to 170 seats in the House, and Blair’s exit will bring them down to 169—three short of the 172 needed to form a majority government able to pass legislation without support from other parties. A byelection to fill Freeland’s seat has yet to be announced.