As Executive Vice-President and Head of CDPQ Global, Mr. Blanchard is responsible for CDPQ’s three main regional operations outside of Canada: United States/Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific. As such, he is responsible for CDPQ’s international offices, with the objective of diversifying the portfolio by taking a holistic view in approaching the various markets. In addition to representing CDPQ with key stakeholders in global organizations, his mandate includes ensuring visibility as a partner of choice in targeted geographies. He sits on the Executive and Investment-Risk Committees.
Mr. Blanchard has a solid track record as a lawyer, as well as in business
and international affairs. Before joining CDPQ in September 2020, he was Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations in New York from 2016 to 2020. In that role, he demonstrated exceptional leadership in promoting better alignment of capital with sustainable development. From 2017 to 2020, he sat on Canada’s North American
Free Trade Agreement Council. Prior to that, he was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of McCarthy Tétrault, one of Canada’s leading law firms.
In the 20 years he worked there, he also served as Managing Partner for Québec, litigator and strategic advisor for companies.
In addition to a Bachelor of Laws from Université de Montréal, Mr. Blanchard holds an LLM in Public International Law from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He also holds a Master’s in Public Administration and a Master’s in International Affairs, both from the School
of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. He was called
to the Québec Bar in 1992.