U.S. Senate confirms David Cohen as country’s new ambassador to Canada
Global News
Cohen has previously served as a lawyer, lobbyist and fundraiser who served as a senior adviser and chief diversity officer at U.S. communications giant Comcast.
The U.S. Senate has confirmed David Cohen, a tech executive who once served as chief of staff to the mayor of Philadelphia, to be the next U.S. ambassador to Canada.
Cohen, a lawyer, lobbyist and fundraiser who served as a senior adviser and chief diversity officer at U.S. communications giant Comcast, was nominated in July by U.S. President Joe Biden.
He’s no stranger to political circles: in addition to serving as the Comcast’s primary lobbyist, Cohen spent five years as chief of staff to Philadelphia mayor Ed Rendell in the 1990s.
He also hosted the first fundraising event of Biden’s successful 2020 presidential election campaign.
During his confirmation hearing in September, Cohen sang the praises of the Canada-U.S. relationship.
But he also suggested the Biden administration was growing impatient with Ottawa’s long-term China policy.
“We are all waiting for Canada to release its framework for its overall China policy,” he told members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, describing the autocratic regime’s ambitions as an “existential threat” to the U.S.
He also said he would be involved in discussions to “make sure that Canada’s policies reflect its words in terms of the treatment of China.”