Ms. Jennifer May was appointed Canada’s Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China on September 23, 2022. She is the first woman to serve in this position.

Prior to her nomination, Ambassador May served as the Ambassador of Canada to the Federative Republic of Brazil from 2019 to 2022. She was Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Canada to the Federal Republic of Germany from 2015 to 2019.
Ambassador May has extensive Asia experience, having served in political and economic roles at the Consulate General of Canada in Hong Kong from 1998 to 2000, in Beijing at the Embassy of Canada to the People’s Republic of China from 2000 to 2004 and in Bangkok at the Embassy of Canada to the Kingdom of Thailand from 2010 to 2012, with additional responsibility to Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos.

Through her thirty-two-year career with the Government of Canada, Ambassador May has also served as Director of Eastern Europe and Eurasia Relations, Executive Director of the Defence and Security Relations Division at Global Affairs Canada and held overseas assignments in Vienna, Austria and Bonn, Germany.

Ambassador May was born in Toronto, Canada and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and German from Laval University in Québec City. She is married with three grown children. She speaks English, French, Mandarin, German and Portuguese. Ambassador Jennifer May is known as 梅倩琳 in Chinese.

Mr. Desmarais has been Senior Vice-President of Power Corporation since 2017. Mr. Desmarais is the driving force behind the Power Sustainable vision as a global, sustainability-led alternative asset manager.

He chairs the Canada China Business Council (CCBC) and also sits on the boards of directors of Canada Life, IG Wealth Management, Mackenzie and Lumenpulse.

He is actively engaged in the community as member of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research.

Mr. Desmarais holds a Bachelor of Civil Law from the University of Ottawa, a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Political Science from McGill University, and has been a Québec Bar member since 2009.

Noah spent three years as Director of CCBC’s Ontario chapter building the chapter’s membership base and organizing bilateral delegations and events before becoming Managing Director of CCBC’s operations in China.

He has 10 years of progressive international career experience in the public, private and non-profit sectors and in multiple sectors including government, manufacturing, education and life sciences. He also was the Director of Marketing and Business Development for a manufacturer of medical devices, overseeing all marketing, sales, and communications activities, driving international strategy for emerging markets with a specific focus on Greater China.

Noah holds a Bachelor of Social Sciences in International Development and Globalization (Honours) with a minor in Business Administration from the University of Ottawa, partially completed at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and has a certificate in Mandarin Chinese from Nanjing Normal University. Additionally, he has completed the Ivey Business School Certificate in Sales Management.