Prof. Stephen Azzi was quoted in two Ottawa Citizen articles on January 13, 2017, both with regards to the US Ambassador position. In his first article entitled “American ambassadors to Canada: The good, the bad and the downright ‘obnoxious’” Prof. Azzi shares with us some history on the position while the second article, detailed below, gives us some insight on potential replacements.
The following excerpt is from the article entitled “Who would want to be America’s ambassador to Canada? We asked one to find out“:
United States Ambassador Bruce Heyman confirmed last week that he will resign “as requested,” effective Jan. 20, the day of president-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.
The former Chicago investment banker and his wife, Vicki, who’ve become popular on both social media and the Ottawa social scene, say they’ll decamp on or around that date.
They “love Canada” — the feeling is apparently mutual given the outpouring of good will on Twitter and Facebook — and promise to be back “frequently” for visits.
But in the meantime, the battleship-like American embassy on Sussex Drive could be without a captain for months into the Trump administration.
With that in mind, the Citizen talked to two experts about the ambassador’s job, the perks of the post and who might be coming to town.
Peter Teeley was appointed United States Ambassador to Canada in 1992 by president George H.W. Bush after serving the then-vice president as press secretary.
Stephen Azzi is an associate professor of political management with a cross-appointment in history at Carleton University with ties to the Liberal party and the historian behind Reconcilable Differences: A History of Canada-US Relations.