TORONTO (AP) – Canada’s prime minister on Friday named seasoned politician Frank McKenna as Canada’s new ambassador to Washington, a move designed to enhance relations between the prickly North American neighbors.

McKenna, 46, said his job would be to sell his country to Americans, long perceived by Canadians as indifferent to the people and problems north of the 49th parallel.

“I think Canada has something distinctive to sell to the world,” said McKenna, shortly after his appointment was made official. “A large part of that world is the United States of America, and I would like the United States to understand us better.”

McKenna was premier of New Brunswick from 1987 to 1997 and for the last seven years practiced law and served on the boards of General Motors of Canada Ltd., the Bank of Montreal and CanWest Global Communications Corp., where he is chairman.

Observers say the selection of McKenna suggests Prime Minister Paul Martin believes the Washington job requires the kind of political skills not easily found in career diplomats.

McKenna will have to deal with tough issues that have plagued Canadian-U.S. relations, such as the prolonged tariff dispute over softwood lumber and cases of mad cow disease found in Alberta, prompting Washington to close the border to cattle imports and costing the Canadian beef industry at least $3 billion.

McKenna, who will replace Michael Kergin as ambassador to Washington, cautioned that those issues would not be resolved overnight.

“My interests will be not just in trying to make progress on single issues which are very high profile, but it’s to take a robust relationship and try to build on that,” McKenna said.

Some McKenna critics say he is too closely tied to President Bush. They also don’t like that he’s on the advisory board of the Carlyle Group, an $18 billion private equity firm that boasts some of the most powerful men in Washington, including former U.S. Treasury Secretary James Baker and former U.S. Defense Secretary Frank Carlucci.

McKenna said while he has played golf with former President Bush, who also worked for the Carlyle Group, and former President Clinton, his Washington connections have been “overblown” and his acquaintances could only help the U.S.-Canadian mix.

AP-ES-01-14-05 1705EST

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