Mr. Fried’s distinguished diplomatic career for Canada spanned law, economics and trade. Prior to his retirement in August, 2020, he was Coordinator for International Economic Relations at Global Affairs Canada, with a mandate encompassing responses to the COVID pandemic, and Canada-Asia and other international trade and economic matters. From 2017 to early 2020, he was the Personal Representative of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for the G20.
Previously, he served as Canada’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the WTO 2012-2017, where he played a key role as Chair of the WTO’s General Council in 2014 and Chair of the Dispute Settlement Body in 2013. He was the co-Chair with China of the G20’s Trade and Investment Working Group in 2015, and the “Friend of the Chair” for Germany in 2016. He was Canada’s representative to APEC’s Vision Group that set out in 2019 long-term objectives for the forum. Formerly Canada’s Ambassador to Japan; Executive Director for Canada, Ireland and the Caribbean at the IMF; Senior Foreign Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister; Senior Assistant Deputy Minister for the Department of Finance and Canada's G7 and G20 Finance Deputy. Mr. Fried has also served as Associate Deputy Minister; Assistant Deputy Minister for Trade, Economic and Environmental Policy; Chief Negotiator on China’s WTO accession; chief counsel for NAFTA; and Counsellor for Congressional Affairs at the Canadian Embassy in Washington, DC.
Mr. Fried is a Senior Advisor with Bennett Jones, LLP, in Ottawa, the Albright Stonebridge Group in Washington, DC, Senior Associate to the Center for Strategic and International Studies also in Washington, DC, and is on the Advisory Group to Independent Economics Consulting in London, UK. He is a Distinguished Fellow of the Asia-Pacific Foundation, and is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Trade Action Group.
He serves on the Board of Directors of the Health Standards Organization and the Advisory Boards of the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, the World Trade Symposium, and the Central and East European Law Institute.
He was bestowed by the Emperor of Japan with the Order of the Rising Sun in November, 2022.
Mr. Fried received his B.A. and LL.B. from the University of Toronto, and LL.M. from Columbia University.
RECENT PUBLICATIONS BY JONATHAN FRIED
Takeaways from the G20 Summit in India
Canada, A Player in the Indo-Pacific?
France, the EU, and Canada in the Indo-Pacific
