John Short Larke
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John Short Larke was Canada's first trade commissioner, representing the country in Australia starting in 1894.
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[edit] Life before 1894
John Short Larke was born near Stratton, Cornwall, England, on May 28 1840[1]. Between 1865 and 1878, Larke bought out the owners of the Oshawa Vindicator, becoming the sole proprietor of a strongly pro-Conservative newspaper[2].
[edit] Post-1894, representing Canada
In 1894, Larke became Canada's first trade commissioner following a successful trade delegation to Australia led by Canada's first Minister of Trade and Commerce, Mackenzie Bowell[3]. Arriving in Sydney in 1895, Larke was tasked with developing the market for Canadian products in Australia, developing a list of Canadian suppliers for promoting sales to Australia, and reporting back to Ottawa regarding market conditions. During Larke’s years as a Trade Commissioner, the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service expanded from one man to twenty-one, representing Canada in sixteen countries[4]. Today, the Trade Commissioner Service, part of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, operates 140 offices in over 100 countries around the world.
