British diplomat taken aback by spectacular Calgary

Afghanistan, Nigeria and Cameroon are exotic places but Alberta’s latest U.K. Consul-General still had never seen anything quite as remarkable as the Calgary Stampede.

Rob Fitzpatrick is still settling into his official Calgary residence along with his wife Morgan and their two girls aged 12 and eight, but he had a sneak peek of his home for the next four years when he paid a flying five-day visit back in July during the Stampede.

Outgoing Consul-General Jonathan Turner arranged the trip, knowing from his own experience how the annual event is the perfect venue for a new diplomat to get a taste for the city and its people.

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“It is difficult to explain it to people back in the U.K. There just isn’t an equivalent. It allowed me to meet so many people in a great environment and to make so many connections. It compressed two or three months chasing people down to say hello into four or five days,” said Fitzpatrick, who will represent the U.K.’s interests in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

His previous diplomatic posting was as Britain’s Deputy High Commissioner in Yaounde, Cameroon. Before that he served as a political officer at the British Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan and as head of communications at the British High Commission in Abuja, Nigeria.

Calgary is certainly a change of scenery from those locations and it has already made a strong impression on the British diplomat and his family.

“I can see why the city is right up there at the top of best places in the world in which to live. Some mornings I make myself get up early so I can draw the curtains back and see the sun rise over the towers downtown, with the Rockies in the background. It is so spectacular,” said Fitzpatrick.

“It has been a very strong positive first impression. I’m looking forward to what I hope will be a successful posting both from both a family and work perspective,” he added.

Given the approaching referendum regarding Alberta sovereignty and the trade and tariff row with the United States that blew up last week, it promises an interesting time ahead for any diplomat based out of Calgary.

As a representative of the U.K. government Fitzpatrick won’t comment on matters involving Canadian constitutional affairs or its current dealings with the U.S. although obviously he will be monitoring developments on behalf of Britain.

But regardless of what happens in the political arena in the weeks and months ahead the consul-general stressed that the ties between the U.K. and Canada run deep and he hopes to help deepen those ties across the prairie provinces during his four-year posting.

“From trade to tech to science to defence – that relationship spans the full breadth of what the UK would want in a relationship with one of its closet partners.”