April/2018 Canadian of the Month
James Villeneuve, Consul General of Canada in Los Angeles
James Villeneuve was appointed Consul General of Canada, Los Angeles in February 2014. He is Canada's senior representative in Southern California, Arizona and Nevada.
Prior to his appointment, Mr. Villeneuve worked for Anheuser Busch InBev, the world’s largest brewing company and the parent company of Labatt Breweries, for more than 27 years. He started with Labatt in Toronto in sales and marketing and was later transferred to Vancouver, where he was regional director of government affairs for Western Canada.
In 1995, Mr. Villeneuve returned to Toronto to manage Labatt’s rebranding initiative and to run the company’s corporate and sports properties. He later became director of corporate affairs and then vice-president of corporate affairs for Canada. From 2007 to 2009, Mr. Villeneuve worked in Brussels to lead InBev’s global corporate affairs practice. After InBev purchased Anheuser Busch in 2009, Mr. Villeneuve moved to St. Louis to lead the company’s North American corporate affairs department.
Mr. Villeneuve has served on many boards during his career, including the Toronto Economic Development Commission, the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, the 2008 Toronto Olympic Bid, the Granville Island Trust, the Association of Canadian Advertisers, Carleton University, the Canadian Club, Teach for America, the United Way and the Regional Chamber and Growth Association in St. Louis. He received a Bachelor’s degree from Carleton University in 1985.
Mr. Villeneuve is married to Kim Walker-Villeneuve and they have two children, Grace and Andrew.
Here is our interview with the Consul General:
Q. What’s the day in the life of the Consul General like?
A. It’s a lot of outside events – meetings with businesses or political leaders. And lots of evening work. We’ve hosted about 300 events at the Official Residence in 4 years, plus I’m out at others. That’s a good sign about the strength of our network here. On top of that, Canadians are constantly reaching out for help with passports, Americans and others are seeking visas, and so I stay on top of what our busy staff is up to, to make sure we can continue giving the Canadian taxpayers the best service.
Q. What has been your greatest accomplishment of being Consul General?
A. We’ve had great success on the trade and investment files. The customer satisfaction of companies working with our Trade Commissioner Service officers is the highest [of the 12 consulates] in the US. We’ve moved jobs, up to 400 at a time, up to Vancouver. The ability to attract that kind of investment to Canada is great for us as an office and a country.
Q. How has your view of LA changed over the years since you first began your post?
A. I was pleasantly surprised by what an international and global city LA is. Until you live here, you don’t appreciate the mosaic – people from all over the world.
Q. Why is it good to be a Canadian in LA?
A. There are lots of us here. So the ability to connect with other Canadians is great. Canada is a country of openness, tolerance and civility – and LA is like that, maybe the closest to Canadian values of anywhere in the US. Mayor Garcetti told me that people come to LA to live their dreams, which means everyone is welcome – and that Canadians should feel welcome, too.
Q. Any advice for new Canadian transplants in California?
A. Join Canadians Abroad! Go to events. See if your university alumni are meeting in LA, which many of them do. And register with the Consulate.
Q. You are stuck in traffic on the 405. What song are you usually signing along to and what are you thinking about?
A. Anything from Rush. Or The Tragically Hip.
Q. What keeps you up at night?
A. The safety of our citizens. I think about the Las Vegas shooting, where 16 of our citizens were shot. Something like that doesn’t come up daily, but it stays with you. I went out to visit some of the Canadians in the hospital, and it was pretty horrific. For most Canadians, I think, the US doesn’t really feel like a foreign country, but that was one of those instances where people felt in need of help from their government and where it’s most crucial that we can respond well – which I think we really did.
Q. Have you ever been star struck while in your position?
A. To a certain degree. It’s hard not to be star-struck when you meet people like Leonard Cohen at the Canadian Residence. What an icon.
Q. What do you find most challenging about being the Consul General?
A. Connecting Canada’s largest diaspora in the world. The city is so spread out, there’s a challenge in getting around and bringing people together. And also staying on top of all the Canadians who are here and coming all the time and doing interesting, valuable work.
Q. Your friends or family are in town. What would you typically do with them on a Saturday afternoon and evening here in LA?
A. Hiking, for sure. And baseball at Dodger Stadium.
Q. You have a week vacation with an unlimited budget. Where in Canada would you go and why?
A. Newfoundland. I’ve been there a bunch of times, and the people are great. Or maybe the Northwest Territories. Amazing natural beauty. The northern lights are beyond description.
Read more about the Consul General by clicking here.