By Pepper Parr
December 26th, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
At the last meeting of City Council, Ward 6 Councillor Angelo Bentivegna said, “this will put Burlington on the map”. He was referring to the possible visit of a FIFA Caravan coming to Burlington.
Many scoffed at the Bentivegna remark.
What will make many in Burlington proud is the announcement that Nelson High School graduate Mark Wseman has been made the Canadian Ambassador to the United States. He will take up his role on February 15th, of 2026.
Prime Minister Mark Carney formally announced that Canada’s next ambassador to the United States will be Mark Wiseman, a plain-spoken dealmaker with deep business relationships who will head to Washington with the goal of securing trade peace.
Wiseman, is a close friend of the Prime Minister.
Wiseman, a former lawyer and pension-fund executive who has stewarded money for some of the world’s largest investors, is in a position of influence as Canada seeks to restore fraught trade and defence ties with the U.S.
Wiseman, is a close friend of the Prime Minister. His mandate will include helping the government boost foreign direct investment in Canada.
“Mark Wiseman brings immense experience, contacts, and deep commitment at this crucial time of transformation of our relationship with the United States,” Mr. Carney said.
“As a core member of our negotiating team, he will help advance the interests of Canadian workers, businesses, and institutions, while building opportunities for both Canada and the United States.”
Former colleagues lauded him as a strong pick for the post, though opposition politicians criticized the appointment on the basis of his past comments on supply management and his positions on immigration.
He has not served in government or diplomatic service, but several of his past jobs had a public-sector link, including his stint from 2012 to 2016 as chief executive officer of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, which manages $778-billion for working Canadians and retirees.
Mr. Wiseman, 55, was born in Niagara Falls, Ont., studied at Queen’s University and earned his law degree and MBA from the University of Toronto. He was a Fulbright Scholar at Yale University and clerked for then-justice Beverley McLachlin at the Supreme Court of Canada. Ms. McLachlin later served as the top court’s chief justice.
“You can’t find a smarter person in Canada who will understand the intricacies of the American file. He is perfect for that,” Brent Belzberg, senior executive chairman of private equity firm TorQuest Partners and the founder of Harrowston, said in an email.
“He is also close to the Prime Minister who weighs in personally on this file. Canada is lucky that Mark will make the personal sacrifice to take this on.”
Wiseman spent four years at Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan before he joined CPPIB in 2005, where he was later named CEO at the age of 42.
Mr. Wiseman was one of the earliest financial backers of Mr. Carney’s bid to lead the Liberal Party earlier this year, and had been appointed to the Prime Minister’s Canada-U.S. advisory council in March.
He spent four years at Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan before he joined CPPIB in 2005, where he was later named CEO at the age of 42. More recently, from 2020 to 2023, he was chair of Alberta Investment Management Corp.
A Gazette reader brought this to our attention saying he was a student the day Nelson opened in 1957. “Later in life I was part of a selection committee to recognize grads who deserved recognition for outstanding work in their life on the” Nelson Wall of Distinction “.He will probably be on the Wall soon.”
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