Ron MacIntosh

Ron MacIntosh is a former officer with Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, now called Global Affairs Canada. Mr. MacIntosh is a native of Nova Scotia but largely grew up in Toronto. He is functionally fluent in French and beginner level in Mandarin and Japanese. He resides in Ottawa.

Education

Mr. MacIntosh holds an Honours BA from Dalhousie University where he was Gold Medalist in Political Science in 1973. He also holds an interdisciplinary MA in International Affairs (Development) from Carleton University with his thesis on the interaction of land reform and rural development.

Work Experience

In 2010, Mr. MacIntosh completed his 35 year foreign service career as Director General, Strategic Planning, Resources and Coordination. In addition to several development-related assignments, his career focused largely on Asia Pacific, especially on trade and economic issues. At headquarters, he was an early leader in developing Canada's economic and commercial approaches to China following the Deng Xiaoping "opening" in the late '70s and early '80s, in framing Canada's involvement in Pacific institutions notably APEC, and later in the charting of Canada's emerging markets strategy.

His early postings abroad included Barbados (1976-78), Japan (1982-85), and Korea (1991-94). Mr. MacIntosh was also head of the Environment and Fisheries section of the Canadian Embassy in Washington DC 1997-2001. Mr. MacIntosh's final assignment abroad was in leading Canada's presence in Taiwan as Executive Director, Canadian Trade Office in Taipei 2006-09

Since late 2011, as a Senior Fellow with the China Institute, Mr. MacIntosh helped orchestrate the delivery of seven courses on China for the Canadian Foreign Service Institute, acted as principal writer on two energy strategy documents for Alberta Energy, penned several commentaries on trade and investment policy, and assisted with five Canada-China investment policy forums, including one in Beijing. Mr. MacIntosh has also undertaken work for the Government of Alberta in connection with their "Greater China Research Project" and more recently has supported similar work by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. He also participated in a Canada-Indonesia project with the Centre for International Governance Innovation in 2015.

Mr. MacIntosh is an active member of the National Capital Branch of the Canadian International Council particularly on Asia Pacific issues. He is also a part-time student at the Ottawa School of Art.