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Diplomats Get U.S. Reality Check, and CBC Puts More Reporters Overseas.
News for residents of the “11th province”: Canadians abroad.
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Diplomats Get a U.S. Reality Check
Canadian diplomats in the United States deal with the same relocation headaches as the rest of us, except with firearms, emergency drills and medical advances in the mix. An internal Global Affairs Canada audit found staff at U.S. missions had to deal with safety risks, health-care hassles and housing costs that Ottawa didn’t always keep up the pace with.
Canada has its embassy in Washington in additions to consulates and trade offices in 15 other American cities. At the time of the audit in late 2025, the U.S. network was home to 130 diplomats, 254 Canadian staff from “federal departments” and 356 locally hired Americans.
The part of the story that is likely most familiar to any Canadian who has tried to set up life south of the border is the paperwork-meets-real-life bit. Some staff had to use advances or credit card debt to cover health costs, including one advance that ended up being more than $100,000. The audit also found 65 per cent of rents in the U.S. network are higher than the costs set by Ottawa's ceiling. Interesting reading.
Read more: Global News / Canada's National Observer
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A photo from the old country:
CBC Puts More Reporters Overseas
In what is a bit of a surprise move, CBC/Radio-Canada is putting more reporters back overseas. The public broadcaster says it’s going to post journalists in at least five more locations over the next 24 months.
The list includes Beijing, Jerusalem, Los Angeles, Mexico City and one European location still to be named. CBC also says it will build a permanent presence in Africa, while continuing to send reporters into other countries when stories break.
The announcement is, in part, a rebuild. CBC had a China bureau for more than 40 years before shuttering it in 2022 after it couldn’t get visas for permanent correspondents. It currently has seven permanent bureaus in Istanbul, London, Mumbai, New York, Paris, Taipei and Washington, and it sent news teams to 65 countries last year.
For Canadians reading from outside Canada, the news is positive because it will mean more of the world is going to get covered through Canadian eyes.
Read more: CBC News / CityNews Toronto