Conversation with The Honourable Robert Rae, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations in New York
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Join us as Stéphanie Fillion, a distinguished New York-based reporter, moderates a discussion with The Honourable Robert Rae, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations in New York.
Date and Location
When: June 3, 2024. 6:00 to 8:30 p.m.
Where: The Penn Club of New York
Before his appointment by the Government of Canada, Mr. Rae served as Canada’s special
envoy on humanitarian and refugee issues, continuing the important work that he began in 2017
as Canada’s special envoy to Myanmar while also addressing other pressing humanitarian and
refugee issues around the world.
The former premier of Ontario and former interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, Mr. Rae
was elected 11 times to federal and provincial parliaments between 1978 and 2013. He stepped
down as a member of Parliament in 2013 to return to legal practice and, in particular, to work
with Indigenous communities and continue his work in education, governance and human rights.
His passion for social justice dates back to his early days in student politics and community
service.
Before his appointment as permanent representative, Mr. Rae was senior counsel at Olthuis
Kleer Townshend LLP. In addition to his legal practice, he taught at the University of Toronto in
the School of Public Policy and Governance, in the Faculty of Law and at Massey College and
Victoria University, and he was a fellow of the Forum of Federations, Massey College and the
Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights. He has also worked as a mediator and arbitrator
with ADR Chambers. A former partner at Goodmans LLP, Mr. Rae led the restructuring of the
Canadian Red Cross and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and chaired the board of the Royal
Conservatory of Music. He is the author of 5 books and a number of government reports.
Mr. Rae is a privy councillor, a companion of the Order of Canada and a member of the Order of
Ontario and has numerous awards and honorary degrees from institutions in Canada and around
the world. He received his Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in Modern History from the
University of Toronto and a Master of Philosophy degree as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford
University, and graduated from the University of Toronto Faculty of Law.
Along with music, reading and writing, he loves tennis, golf and fishing. He is married to Arlene
Perly Rae. They have 3 daughters and 5 grandchildren.
MODERATOR: Stéphanie Fillion
Stéphanie Fillion is a New York-based reporter specializing in foreign affairs and human rights and a United Nations correspondent. Her work was published in outlets like Forbes, Foreign Policy, Radio-Canada, La Stampa and the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun.
She has a master’s degree in journalism, politics and global affairs from Columbia University and a BA in political science from McGill University.
In recent years, her UN coverage received two UN Correspondent Association awards as well as a Gracie award from the Alliance for Women in Media.
She writes in French, English and Italian.
