- John Short Larke
John Short Larke was Canada's first [http://www.international.gc.ca/about-a_propos/jobs-emplois/comm-career-carriere.aspx trade commissioner] , representing the country in Australia starting in
1894 .Life before 1894
John Short Larke was born near Stratton,
Cornwall ,England , on May 281840 . [ [http://www.oldandsold.com/articles38/oshawa-19.shtml Minutes of banquet given in Larke's honour before his departure for Sydney.] ] Between 1865 and 1878, Larke bought out the owners of the "Oshawa Vindicator," becoming the sole proprietor of a strongly pro-Conservative newspaper. [ [http://www.accessgenealogy.com/scripts/data/database.cgi?file=Data&report=SingleArticle&ArticleID=0031597 The Canadian Biographical Dictionary and Portrait Gallery of Eminent and Self-Made Men, Ontario Volume, 1880.] ]Post-1894, representing Canada
In 1894, Larke became Canada's first trade commissioner following a successful trade delegation to Australia led by Canada's first Minister of Trade and Commerce,
Mackenzie Bowell . [ [http://geo.international.gc.ca/asia/australia/relations/history-en.asp History of Canada-Australia relations] ] Arriving inSydney in 1895, Larke was tasked with developing the market for Canadian products in Australia, developing a list of Canadian suppliers for promoting sales toAustralia , and reporting back toOttawa regarding market conditions.During Larke’s years as a Trade Commissioner, the [http://www.international.gc.ca/commerce/index.aspx Canadian Trade Commissioner Service] expanded from one man to twenty-one, representing Canada in sixteen countries [ [http://dsp-psd.communication.gc.ca/Collection/E12-9-19-13E.pdf Canada’s First Trade Commissioner] ] . Today, the Trade Commissioner Service, part of theDepartment of Foreign Affairs and International Trade , operates 140 offices in over 100 countries around the world.External links
* [http://empireclubfoundation.com/details.asp?SpeechID=2384&FT=yes Speech made J.S. Larke, to the Empire Club of Canada (1905). Entitled Australia: Political and General Conditions]
References
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