With Kirsten Hillman set to leave her roles as Canada’s ambassador and its chief trade negotiator with the United States in 2026, one name has emerged as the leading candidate to become her successor: Mark Wiseman. A former high ranking

BlackRock Inc.

executive who also ran the

Canada Pension Plan

‘s investment fund, Wiseman has emerged as the favourite to become Canada’s next ambassador, though it’s still unclear who might take the negotiator title,

sources told Bloomberg News earlier this week.

Here’s what you need to know about the top candidate for Canadian ambassador to the U.S.:

Early life and education

Wiseman was born in Niagara Falls, Ont. in 1970. He completed his undergraduate degree at Queen’s University before completing a joint MBA and law degree at the University of Toronto. Upon graduation, Wiseman worked as a clerk at the

Supreme Court of Canada

under Justice Beverley McLachlin, who later became Chief Justice. He later joined New York law firm Sullivan & Cromwell, and moved to Paris to spend three years working on major mergers and acquisitions. Wiseman also holds a Master of Laws degree from Yale University, where he was a Fulbright Scholar.

Career climb in North America

Wiseman returned to Canada in 2000 and began working for Harrowston Inc., before quickly moving on to the O

ntario Teachers’ Pension Plan

(OTTP). While at the OTTP, Wiseman was responsible for the private equity fund and the co-investment program.

In 2005, Wiseman joined the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), which was in the process of replacing passive assets with new asset classes such as real estate and infrastructure. By his mid 40s, Wiseman became the chief executive of the CPPIB, where he would hold the position for nearly four years.

In 2016,

Wiseman left the CPPIB

earlier than planned to become the senior managing director and global head of active equities at BlackRock Inc. in New York. He also served as BlackRock’s chairman of alternative business and chairman of its global investment committee, and there was early speculation that he could be a potential successor to chief executive Larry Fink. But Wiseman was fired from BlackRock in December 2019 after he failed to disclose consensual relationship with another employee, violating company policy.

Less than a year later, Wiseman was back in the Canadian investment scene, this time as Chair of the

Alberta Investment Management Corporation

(AIMCo), where he helped stabilize the fund following a $2 billion loss. He left AIMCo in 2023.

What is he doing now?

Wiseman currently serves as senior advisor and chairman of Lazard Canada, a boutique investment firm founded in New Orleans and is chairman of Alter Domus, an alternative investment and asst management firm. He is also a senior advisor to Boston Consulting Group and a board member with NOVA Chemicals.

He also serves as chair of the Century Initiative, an controversial lobbying group he co-founded with the goal of boosting Canada’s economy by bringing its population to 100 million by 2100 through immigration.

On Wednesday, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre

called Wiseman

a “corporate crony” and “longtime Liberal elite,” who only wants to drive corporate profits and housing costs up. Liberal leaders have said driving Canada’s population up to 100 million is not part of its plan.

Connections to Carney and the Liberals

Wiseman has been described as a close friend of

Prime Minister Mark Carney.

In 2016, Wiseman was named part of the Advisory Council on Economic Growth, which was a 14-member group of experts assembled under former finance minister Bill Morneau to advise the government on economic policy.

The idea behind the ACEG, chaired by Dominic Barton, was to provide strategic advice for sustained Canadian economic growth, focusing on areas including capital investment, innovation, talent and labour markets, trade and investment.

  • Mark Wiseman top contender for ambassador to U.S.
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In March 2025, Carney added Wiseman to the council of advisors on Canada-U.S. relations, which Trudeau established.

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