The Hon. John McCallum

First Year of Call

Areas of Practice
Government Relations & Public Policy

Description
The Honourable John McCallum joined McMillan as Senior Strategic Advisor on June 10, 2019. In this role, Mr. McCallum provides advice that is based on exceptional political and diplomatic insight. Having served as Canada’s ambassador to China, Mr. McCallum is an internationally recognized authority on Sino-Canadian relations. His input is invaluable to clients building business-to-business contacts and creating opportunities in both China and Canada.

John McCallum began his career as a Member of Parliament by nominating Nelson Mandela as an honorary citizen of Canada in 2001. He served as Defence Minister under Jean Chrétien. Under Paul Martin, Mr. McCallum served as Veterans Affairs Minister, National Revenue Minister, Natural Resources Minister and as Chair of the Expenditure Review Committee, where he demonstrated extensive fiscal responsibility through budget management.

As Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship in Justin Trudeau’s cabinet, Mr. McCallum led Canada’s effort to welcome 25,000 Syrian refugees over a period of three months.

Earlier, Mr. McCallum served as Chief Economist for the Royal Bank of Canada, Dean of the Faculty of Arts at McGill University, and a long-time economics professor at the University of Manitoba, Simon Fraser University, Université du Québec à Montréal and McGill University. In the academic world, he is best known for his article on “border effects,” published in 1995.