DATE: October 10, 2024
EVENT: Russia, Ukraine and Canada: Why Should Allied Victory Matter to Us?

Christopher A. Alexander is a former Canadian diplomat and politician. He represented the riding of Ajax-Pickering for the Conservative party in our federal parliament from 2011 to 2015. He  served as Minister of Citizenship and Immigration from 2013 to 2015. 

Christopher grew up in Toronto, and after his secondary schooling, earned a Bachelor of Arts in history and politics from McGill University in 1989 and a Master of Arts in politics, philosophy, and economics from Balliol College, Oxford in 1991. He studied at Université Laval for the first six months of 1989. 

Christopher joined the foreign service in 1991, and was posted to the Canadian embassy in Russia as Third Secretary and Vice-Consul. In 1996, he returned to Ottawa as an assistant to the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. In 1997, he became Deputy Director (Russia) of the Eastern Europe Division responsible for political and trade relations. In 2002, he returned to the Canadian embassy in Moscow as Minister Counsellor.  From 2003 to 2005, Christopher was Canadian ambassador to Afghanistan. His performance in diplomacy circles was widely lauded.