Catherine Stewart was appointed as Canada’s Ambassador for Climate Change in 2022, having served since 2014 in various senior executive positions at Environment and Climate Change Canada including Assistant Deputy Minister of International Affairs, Chief Negotiator for Climate Change, Director General for Multilateral Affairs and Climate Change and Director General for the Americas. For a decade, she has worked in the environment and climate change space internationally, building and nurturing key strategic relationships and driving forward ambition including through climate negotiations, the stand-up of the Powering Past Coal Alliance, the launch of the Global Carbon Pricing Challenge and the Ministerial on Climate Action.
With over 27 years in the federal government, she has contributed to public policy issues ranging from international affairs, clean technology promotion and trade, defence and security and military procurement. She has held executive positions as Director of Strategic Policy and Integration at Public Works and Government Services Canada and Chief of Staff to the Deputy Secretary of Operations at the Privy Council Office supporting Cabinet decision-making on social and economic policy priorities.
Catherine was recruited into the federal public service through what is now known as the Policy Officer Recruitment Program at the Department of National Defence where she worked on defence and security policy, taking on increasingly more challenging policy development and management roles, including preparing Cabinet submissions, leading the Ministerial speechwriting team and managing Canada’s participation in the NATO Alliance.
Prior to joining government, Catherine worked on a United Nations peacekeeping and electoral mission in Mozambique.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts from McGill University and a Master of Arts in Public Administration from Carleton University. She is married with three adult children.