EDMONTON - After falling short in his bid to become Alberta’s new premier, Gary Mar’s consolation prize is a new $264,500 a year job as the province’s representative in Asia.
The former cabinet minister accepted the job offer from Premier Alison Redford, who narrowly beat Mar two weeks ago on the second ballot of the Progressive Conservative leadership race.
“I think Gary has a long record of public services and he served us very well in Washington,” Redford said. “I think it really shows that when the province had a political priority we needed to achieve, it was worth having someone that had perspective from both elected office and the civil service, and understood how government worked.
“As we move opening up Asian markets, and dealing with the pipelines, making sure we’re building those relationship to the Far East, then I think it’s important to have someone there we can have a very dynamic relationship with, and will represent the province well.
There had been considerable speculation about the next move for the 49-year-old Mar, who has not spoken publicly since suffering a stunning defeat in the leadership contest Oct. 1. He said during the campaign that he would run as an MLA in Calgary even if he lost the race, and Redford indicated she would welcome him into cabinet if he won his seat.
Mar was unavailable for comment Friday, but released a short statement explaining his change of mind.
“Premier Redford and I had discussions on what my future would entail, which included potentially running for office and serving in cabinet. Upon reflection, I see this as both an exciting and challenging opportunity and this is my way of serving Albertans. I am honoured and humbled that Premier Redford has the confidence in me to lead our province’s efforts in opening up new markets in this region of the world.”
The position is similar to the one Mar held for three years as Alberta’s envoy in Washington, during which he met with federal and state lawmakers to promote the province’s energy sector.
Political advocacy will again be one of his duties in Asia, but the job description is much broader, said Mike Deising, spokesman for the new ministry of International, Intergovernmental and Aboriginal Relations.
Mar will be based in the Alberta government’s office in Hong Kong, from where he will oversee the province’s five other Asia offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo, Seoul and Taiwan.
“The goal is to establish Alberta as the marquee Canadian province in greater Asia,” Deising said.
“In Asia, we are really trying to raise the brand awareness of Alberta, and everything we have to offer in the way of energy, lumber, information and communication technologies. And there is also a kind of ambassador side to the job, starting to establish enhanced relations at the diplomatic level.”
Deising said that while the Asia offices have been around for awhile, Mar’s position is new. No other candidates were considered for the job.
“We’ve known for awhile that we needed to do something more in Asia, we knew we had Gary Mar available, we knew he would be good at it and that he wanted to do it, and the pieces all came together.”
Mar talked at length during the leadership campaign about the importance of expanding Alberta’s presence in Asia at a time when the province’s main export market, the United States, is still struggling economically.
Alberta’s exports to Asia were worth almost $8 billion last year, a number that is expected to rise since China and India are two of the world’s fastest-growing economies, Deising said.
“Enhancing our presence and cultivating new opportunities in Asia are critical for our province,” Redford said in a statement Friday. “Gary is a proven relationship builder and he will foster a new era of co-operation between Alberta and Asia. I believe Alberta’s future economic success will be closely tied to our ability to expand into new and burgeoning markets.”
Mar’s appointment drew criticism from at least one opposition party.
“Gary Mar needs to get a real job,” NDP Leader Brian Mason said in statement. “He moves from one plum government job to another in between attempts to acquire high political office.
“Alison Redford has embraced pork-barrel politics with this patronage appointment. These international positions, if they are needed at all, should be filled by merit, not by patronage and cronyism.”
Mar will be paid a base salary of $264,576, similar to his pay as the Washington envoy. The premier’s annual base salary is slightly more than $200,000, although one-third is tax free.
The former cabinet minister accepted the job offer from Premier Alison Redford, who narrowly beat Mar two weeks ago on the second ballot of the Progressive Conservative leadership race.
“I think Gary has a long record of public services and he served us very well in Washington,” Redford said. “I think it really shows that when the province had a political priority we needed to achieve, it was worth having someone that had perspective from both elected office and the civil service, and understood how government worked.
“As we move opening up Asian markets, and dealing with the pipelines, making sure we’re building those relationship to the Far East, then I think it’s important to have someone there we can have a very dynamic relationship with, and will represent the province well.
There had been considerable speculation about the next move for the 49-year-old Mar, who has not spoken publicly since suffering a stunning defeat in the leadership contest Oct. 1. He said during the campaign that he would run as an MLA in Calgary even if he lost the race, and Redford indicated she would welcome him into cabinet if he won his seat.
Mar was unavailable for comment Friday, but released a short statement explaining his change of mind.
“Premier Redford and I had discussions on what my future would entail, which included potentially running for office and serving in cabinet. Upon reflection, I see this as both an exciting and challenging opportunity and this is my way of serving Albertans. I am honoured and humbled that Premier Redford has the confidence in me to lead our province’s efforts in opening up new markets in this region of the world.”
The position is similar to the one Mar held for three years as Alberta’s envoy in Washington, during which he met with federal and state lawmakers to promote the province’s energy sector.
Political advocacy will again be one of his duties in Asia, but the job description is much broader, said Mike Deising, spokesman for the new ministry of International, Intergovernmental and Aboriginal Relations.
Mar will be based in the Alberta government’s office in Hong Kong, from where he will oversee the province’s five other Asia offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo, Seoul and Taiwan.
“The goal is to establish Alberta as the marquee Canadian province in greater Asia,” Deising said.
“In Asia, we are really trying to raise the brand awareness of Alberta, and everything we have to offer in the way of energy, lumber, information and communication technologies. And there is also a kind of ambassador side to the job, starting to establish enhanced relations at the diplomatic level.”
Deising said that while the Asia offices have been around for awhile, Mar’s position is new. No other candidates were considered for the job.
“We’ve known for awhile that we needed to do something more in Asia, we knew we had Gary Mar available, we knew he would be good at it and that he wanted to do it, and the pieces all came together.”
Mar talked at length during the leadership campaign about the importance of expanding Alberta’s presence in Asia at a time when the province’s main export market, the United States, is still struggling economically.
Alberta’s exports to Asia were worth almost $8 billion last year, a number that is expected to rise since China and India are two of the world’s fastest-growing economies, Deising said.
“Enhancing our presence and cultivating new opportunities in Asia are critical for our province,” Redford said in a statement Friday. “Gary is a proven relationship builder and he will foster a new era of co-operation between Alberta and Asia. I believe Alberta’s future economic success will be closely tied to our ability to expand into new and burgeoning markets.”
Mar’s appointment drew criticism from at least one opposition party.
“Gary Mar needs to get a real job,” NDP Leader Brian Mason said in statement. “He moves from one plum government job to another in between attempts to acquire high political office.
“Alison Redford has embraced pork-barrel politics with this patronage appointment. These international positions, if they are needed at all, should be filled by merit, not by patronage and cronyism.”
Mar will be paid a base salary of $264,576, similar to his pay as the Washington envoy. The premier’s annual base salary is slightly more than $200,000, although one-third is tax free.
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