Ambassador Kirsten Hillman is one of Canada’s foremost experts on trade, diplomacy, and international affairs. Drawing on her 30-year career as a trade lawyer, policy expert, and negotiator — and as one of Canada’s longest-serving Ambassadors to the United States — Hillman offers an insider’s look at the forces reshaping global trade and the Canada-US relationship. She shares insight into how to navigate these important transformations and effectively lead teams through complexity and volatility.

Hillman has served as a close advisor to three Canadian Prime Ministers, holding some of the country’s most senior diplomatic and policy roles. From 2020 to 2026, she served as Canada’s Ambassador to the United States — the first woman appointed to the role — leading the Canada-US relationship through a period of profound volatility and transformation. Her tenure spanned three US administrations, two Canadian governments, and a pandemic, during which she was one of Canada’s foremost strategic voices in Washington.

Prior to this, Hillman served as Canada’s Deputy Ambassador in Washington and played a central role in the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). She worked closely with the US Administration, US Congress, and the business community to ensure the successful conclusion and ratification of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) in 2020.

Before her assignment in Washington, Hillman served as Canada’s Chief Trade Negotiator, leading the Government of Canada branch responsible for all trade policy and trade negotiations, including discussions with India, China, the EU, and the UK. Hillman was also Canada’s Chief Negotiator for the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. Leading a government-wide team of over 100 experts, she helped shape historic rules for open and predictable trade in the Indo-Pacific. Hillman also held the role of Canada’s Senior Legal Advisor to the World Trade Organization and Chief Legal Counsel in the negotiation of several international environmental agreements.

Hillman’s leadership and influence have been widely recognized in both Canada and the United States. She was named to Maclean’s 2022 Power List of 50 Canadians forging paths, leading debate, and shaping how we think and live, and was recognized by Washingtonian as one of Washington’s Most Powerful Women three consecutive times. Hillman has twice been awarded the Head of the Public Service Award and, in 2025, she was awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal in recognition of her outstanding contributions to Canada.