Former federal cabinet minister and four-time Toronto MP Bill Blair is resigning his seat to become the next Canadian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland.
Prime Minister Mark Carney made the announcement in a statement Monday afternoon, arguing Blair brings “four decades of experience serving Canadians and protecting their security.”
The move came more than eight months after Blair was unceremoniously dropped from Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first cabinet after the 2025 election, prompting questions about his future in politics.
During the same announcement, Carney said Nathalie Drouin — a senior civil servant and national security and intelligence advisor to Carney — will become the Canadian ambassador to France and Monaco. She will succeed former Liberal Party of Canada leader Stephane Dion in the post.
According to the statement, both appointments are set to take effect in the spring. It’s not clear exactly when they will resign from their posts.
Blair was first elected as the Liberal Party of Canada MP for the riding of Scarborough Southwest in 2015. It wasn’t until 2018 that Blair joined former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet as border security and organized crime reduction minister.
After being re-elected in 2019 and 2021, Blair went on to serve in various ministerial capacities such as public safety minister, emergency preparedness minister, national defence minister and president of the King’s Privy Council of Canada.
Most recently, Blair served on the House of Commons foreign affairs committee.
Blair won the Scarborough Southwest in 2025 with more than 61 per cent of the vote. Asm Tarun, the Conservative Party of Canada candidate, came second with nearly 31 per cent. Provincially, the riding is held by Ontario NDP MPP Doly Begum. However, during the most recent federal election campaign, the NDP came third with just shy of five per cent of the vote.
Before joining federal politics, he rose through the ranks of the Toronto Police Service. He eventually became chief and served in the role for 10 years and eventually succeeded in the post by Mark Saunders.
Meanwhile, it’s not clear who will seek the Liberal nomination to replace Blair. Under Canadian law, a byelection must be called between the 11th day and the 180th day after the head of Elections Canada receives documentation from the House of Commons advising the seat is vacant. The dates for byelections are typically set by the prime minister of the day. A byelection campaign must last at least 36 days and no more than 50 days after a writ is issued by Elections Canada.
Blair’s resignation also comes just weeks after former cabinet minister Chrystia Freeland resigned her University—Rosedale seat. A date for that byelection hasn’t been called yet.
