Colin Robertson was appointed by Prime Minister Martin in April 2004 as Minister (Advocacy) and Head of the new Advocacy Secretariat at the Canadian Embassy in Washington. The Secretariat was created to enhance Canada’s advocacy activities with Congress and to support the growing advocacy by Canadian legislators and the provinces. The Secretariat works closely with  Canada’s network of consulates across the United States in targeting the media, learning, research and cultural communities.

A career foreign service officer, this is Robertson’s fourth tour of duty in the US. He served in New York at the UN and Consulate General and most recently as Canadian Consul General in Los Angeles responsible for the American south-west.  He was a member of the team that negotiated the Canada-USA Free Trade Agreement and the NAFTA. He has also served in Hong Kong and held senior positions at the Treasury Board Secretariat and Citizenship and Immigration.