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Create AccountAs Russia amassed roughly 100,000 troops on the Ukrainian border and tensions with NATO over a possible invasion continued to rise, Canada sent a special forces unit to Ukraine as part of NATO’s attempt to deter Russian aggression. The unit was also tasked with drafting an evacuation plan for Canadian diplomats in case of war.
Canada announced the closure of its embassy in Caracas, Venezuela. Canada had been supporting opposition leader Juan Guaido’s claim to the presidency after Nicolas Maduro’s re-election in May 2018 was condemned as illegitimate. Canadian diplomats were told their visas would not be renewed after expiring at the end of the month. “Therefore,” Foerign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said, “we are left with no choice but to temporarily suspend our operations at the Embassy of Canada to Venezuela, effective immediately.” On 9 June, Venezuela temporarily closed its consulates in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal. It’s embassy in Ottawa remained open.
John Benjamin Clark Watkins, diplomat, scholar (born 3 December 1902 in Norval (now Halton Hills), ON; died 12 October 1964 in Montreal, QC). John Watkins was Canadian ambassador to the USSR from 1954 to 1956. In 1955, Watkins organized a historic meeting between Canadian External Affairs Minister Lester B. Pearson and Nikita Khrushchev, leader of the Soviet Union.
Jack Hamilton (Jake) Warren, OC, public servant, diplomat, business executive (born 10 April 1921 in Howard Township, ON; died in April 2008 in Ottawa, ON).
Allan Ezra Gotlieb, public servant (born 28 February 1928 in Winnipeg, MB; died 18 April 2020 in Toronto, ON
John Wendell Holmes, OC, diplomat, scholar, civil servant (born 18 June 1910 in London, ON; died 13 August 1988 in London, ON).
John Thomas Peters Humphrey, OC, lawyer, diplomat, scholar (born 30 April 1905 in Hampton, NB; died 14 Mar 1995 in Montreal, QC). John Humphrey was the director of the United Nations Human Rights Division from 1946 to 1966. He was instrumental in drafting the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. He also taught law and briefly served as dean at McGill University. He was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1974 and received the United Nations Prize for human rights advocacy in 1988.
