H.E Dr Julie Sunday
High Commissioner for Canada in AustraliaJulie Sunday joined the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in 2005. Most recently, she served as Assistant Deputy Minister for the Consular, Security and Emergency Management Branch, and led Canada’s consular policy and operations; travel advice; and international emergency policy, operations and response. She also spearheaded efforts to advance the Canada-led Declaration Against Arbitrary Detention in State-to-State Relations. She was named Canada’s first Senior Official for Hostage Affairs in October 2023 and has led diplomatic engagement to support the release of hostages abroad.
At Global Affairs Canada, Dr. Sunday has served as Director for Science, Technology and Innovation; Director General and Adviser to the Chief Financial Officer; Director General, Security and Emergency Management, and Chief Security Officer; and Director General for Pandemic Response (2021), a role in which she led the department’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution campaign. She has also served at two of Canada’s central agencies—the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and the Privy Council Office—and was director general of Clean Technology Innovation at Natural Resources Canada.
Julie is married to Mark McLaughlin and has three daughters. She enjoys hiking and canoeing, particularly in Northern Canada, and is an avid reader. Julie speaks English, French and German.