Joly says $9M NYC condo helps ‘invest in our presence in the US’

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OTTAWA — Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly accused the Conservatives of not supporting Canada’s diplomatic presence in the United States, as they grilled her over the purchase of a $9 million condo for one of its posts. 

Joly was called to testify at a parliamentary committee on Tuesday about the government’s decision to buy a new residence for Canada’s consul general in New York on a posh slice of Manhattan real estate known as Billionaires’ Row.

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Joly’s testimony came as the polls opened across the U.S., in an election where Americans will choose between re-electing former Republican president Donald Trump to the White House or promoting current Democratic vice-president Kamala Harris to even higher office.

Joly pointed to the election to highlight the importance of Canada’s diplomatic missions to the U.S, saying the one in New York was especially important, not only in terms of its ability to support Canadians abroad, but given its access to a multi-trillion dollar market in a region where $200 billion worth of trade crosses Canada-U.S. boundary annually.

“I profoundly believe that more than ever as … the American people are going through an important election today, we need to invest in our presence in the U.S.,” Joly said.

The Opposition Conservatives have decried the $9 million condo purchase as excessive, given the cost of food and housing in Canada.

The party also accused the government of only doing so after the Liberals appointed former broadcaster Tom Clark to the role, whom the Tories call Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s “media buddy.”

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Joly said the decision to purchase a new residence was an operational one made by a property branch within Global Affairs Canada, and not a political one. She went on to accuse the Conservatives of wanting to reduce Canada’s footprint in the U.S. at a crucial time of global uncertainty.

Michael Barrett, the Conservatives’ ethics critic, pointed to newly released documents showing that in April 2023, just two months after Clark’s appointment, the Consulate General New York raised concerns about the former residence on Park Avenue being “not suitable” and requiring “immediate replacement.” 

The documents, first reported on by Politico and also obtained by the National Post through federal access-to-information laws, say the concerns ranged from a lack of access for individuals using wheelchairs, to an insufficient division between personal and professional space for occupants. There had also been ongoing tensions with the condo board, according to the documents.

Clark previously testified that he had no role in the government’s decision to make a new purchase. Barrett said on Tuesday the new documents contradict that and show Clark had “personally complained” about his residence.

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At one point Conservative MP Larry Brock also called the purchase an “egregious abuse” of taxpayer dollars, which Joly flatly rejected, along with Brock’s assertion that “millions” of Canadians were watching Tuesday’s committee, saying in French that she believes they were instead likely paying closer attention to the U.S. election.

A department official told Tuesday’s committee that the former residence has yet to be sold, but that it has fielded nearly 40 different inquiries and garnered “many questions” from real estate agents. That property has been listed at more than $13 million and has been on the market for just over 80 days, the committee heard.

Joly testified that purchasing a new residence in Manhattan was simply the price of doing business. The committee heard the district was home to many other diplomatic missions, which other G7 countries purchased at a cost much higher than the $9 million Canada paid.

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The United Kingdom purchased its residence back in 2019 for around $20 million, the minister said, while Japan’s cost roughly $44 million and Italy forked out $35 million.

As previously reported by the National Post, top executives within Global Affairs Canada were not warned that the new residence its property branch had bought for its New York consul general was located on a stretch of real estate known as Billionaires’ Row, which resulted in the department making changes to its internal communication processes.

Joly herself confirmed on Tuesday she had not been made aware of the purchase until it was first reported by U.S. media back in July.

National Post
staylor@postmedia.com

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