Jonathan T. Fried

Mr. Fried is an independent trade and economic consultant based in Ottawa, Canada. He is also Senior Advisor to the Albright Stonebridge Group in Washington, D.C.; Senior Associate to the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.; and Advisor to Independent Economics (formerly Llewellyn Consulting) in London, U.K., building on his distinguished diplomatic career for Canada.  

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He concurrently serves as Chair of the Canadian National Committee of the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council. He is a member of the Expert Group on Canada-US Relations jointly sponsored by the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, Carleton University,  and the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, and of the Friends of Multilateralism Group, based in Geneva, Switzerland. 

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Prior to his retirement from the Government of Canada in August 2020, he was the Personal Representative of the Prime Minister for the G20, and Coordinator for International Economic Relations, a deputy minister-level position with a mandate encompassing Canada–Asia and other international trade and economic policy. He was a member of the APEC “Vision Group” 2018–19 that provided the basis for APEC’s Putrajaya Vision 2040 and its Aotearoa Action Plan. From mid-2021 to February 2022, he served part-time as Executive Advisor to Global Affairs Canada on the development of Canada’s Indo-Pacific strategy. 

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As Canada’s Ambassador to the WTO from 2012–17, Mr. Fried served both as Chair of the Dispute Settlement Body and subsequently as Chair of the General Council. Prior roles include Ambassador to Japan, Executive Director at the IMF, Senior Foreign Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister, G7 and G20 Finance Deputy, Canada’s senior trade official and Chief Negotiator on China’s WTO accession, and earlier, lead counsel for NAFTA. 

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Mr. Fried is a Distinguished Fellow of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada and the Canadian Global Affairs Institute and serves on the board of the Central and East European Law Institute in Prague, Czechia. Once professor of law at the University of Toronto law school, he has been an adjunct professor at the University of Ottawa and Georgetown University. He received his B.A. and LL.B. from the University of Toronto, and LL.M. from Columbia University, and is a member of the Law Society of Alberta. He was awarded by the Emperor of Japan the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star, in November 2022.