Asia has been a central part of my world since childhood on a farm in Southern Ontario. Two missionary aunts, through letters, postcards and occasional visits, introduced me to Japanese and to Chinese culture. University studies included courses on Chinese history and the first attempts to learn the Chinese language, spoken and written. While I had considered law as a possible career, a somewhat casual decision to write the Foreign Service examination – something suggested by a friend a few days before the exam itself – changed my career plans when I passed the exam and the interview, and thus joined the Canadian Foreign Service, first at the Department of Industry, Trade and Commerce from 1972 onward, where I learned to be a Trade Commissioner, and subsequently, the Department of External Affairs, before it became the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.

Not requiring any training in Canada’s official languages, in January 1973, I was temporarily seconded to the Department of External Affairs for my first foreign assignment as a civilian member of the International Commission of Control and Supervision, based in Saigon. Established to implement the cease-fire provisions of the Paris Peace Accords, thus ending the American phase of the civil war in Vietnam, I was tasked to oversee the public relations of the ICCS. Given its unrealistic objectives – other than the Americans, neither the North nor South Vietnamese governments thought that the war was over – Canada withdrew from the ICCS in the summer of 1973, stating accurately that there was no peace to be controlled or supervised.

My second assignment was a two-year posting as Trade Commissioner to our Embassy in Ankara, Turkey. There, I met Kumru Aytug, the Embassy Librarian. We were married in 1975 and raised three wonderful children, all born in Japan. By one of those Dylanesque twists of fate, Kumru’s Father had been a member of the Turkish Foreign Service. A distinguished diplomat and writer, he served as Turkish Ambassador to the Republic of China (Taiwan) and subsequently, Ambassador to Japan. There can be no question that my career was immeasurably enriched by Kumru’s experiences, insights and guidance, gained as the child of a diplomat, in addition to having lived in Taipei and Tokyo. (To my eternal grief, Kumru passed away in 2021.)

Ankara was followed, between 1975 and 1998 by three alternating assignments to Japan and Ottawa, the former including two years of language training in Yokohama, as well as two private sector secondments.

Among a number of roles in our nation’s capital, I worked in the Privy Council Office under the direction of Robert Fowler who then served as Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau’s adviser on foreign and defence policy. Years later, from 1998 to 2001, I was Assistant Deputy Minister for Asia and Africa, and Senior Official for Canada’s participation in APEC.

In the final decade of my career in the Canadian Foreign Service, I served as Canada’s Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China, with non-resident roles as Ambassador to Mongolia and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (2001-2005); Ambassador to Japan (2005 to 2008); and High Commissioner to India (with accreditation as non-resident High Commissioner to Bhutan and Nepal), from 2008 to 2010.

Thus, a 38 year foreign service career with a focus on Asia, very much as I had intended. And in the midst of all of that, I also managed to garner two Honorary Doctorates, the first from Meiji Gakuin University in Japan, for active promotion of the Canada/Japan relationship. The second came as a result of persuading the GMR Group – one of India’s largest conglomerates – to choose a Canadian instead of US business school for partnership in the development of its own business school in India, and then persuading York University’s Schulich School of Business to choose GMR as their partner. The relationship was formalized in 2010, and is now in its 15^th year.

I am proud to write as well that the Government of Japan awarded me the Order of the Rising Sun (旭日章) in 2017, granted at the Imperial Palace to individuals – Japanese and foreign – who have contributed to Japanese society in various ways. The award was presented by Prime Minister Abe Shinzo to each recipient, followed by words of welcome and congratulations from Emperor Akihito.  I was particularly moved at the conclusion of the ceremony when the Prime Minister came to thank me personally for my lengthy and active engagement with Japan.

I was often encouraged to write a book about my experiences as diplomat and ambassador, and provide my views on the PRC, Japan and India. Perhaps I could have tried my hand at this, following retirement in 2010. I chose instead to work for a decade in the private sector, contributing insights from my Asia-focused career to various Canadian businesses, including with the law firm of Heenan Blaikie (2010-2013), as well as the Boards of Directors of Manulife Financial Corporation (2010-23), Vancouver International Airport/YVR (2010-2019), and Westport Fuel Systems (2012-2015, when it was purchased by US interests).

Thus, 50 years in total. Time to retire.

And also time to think about how blessed a life I have had, both professionally and personally, thanks to the experience of representing, officially, Canada to the governments of societies of breathtaking historical and cultural scope, both mysterious and comprehensible, holding ancient beliefs paired with the dynamics of modernism, self-assured but also uncertain of the future they would build. I was changed by this experience. I realized that many if not most of my first assumptions about people and institutions and nations where I worked were scattered, when not outright misinformed. I learned that it is best to assume nothing, and focus instead on the lessons and insights that living in other cultures provide, and all of that on a daily basis. Especially, I undertook never to forget: it’s their country, not mine. An open mind is the most important tool to carry with you, in all walks of life, including in diplomacy. All of this I came to understand, however imperfectly. But my life was immeasurably enriched just the same.

Joseph Caron
August 2025