Former Canadian Ambassador Shares Experiences of Cuba with Students at Trent University Oshawa

Media invited for brief interviews and photo opportunity

Tuesday, June 17, 2014, Oshawa, ON

Mark Entwistle, former Canadian ambassador to Cuba, will participate in an undergraduate seminar session at Trent University Oshawa on Monday, June 23, 2014 at 9:30 a.m. Media are invited to attend a small opening reception for interviews and photos with Mr. Entwistle.

The seminar on Cuban-North American relations is taught by history professor Dr. Robert Wright. "Few Canadians know Cuba as well as Mark," says Prof. Wright. "Students will have the opportunity to discuss what they have read about Fidel Castro, for example, with somebody who spent over a hundred hours in his presence. But more than this, Mark has literally lived Canadian history, whether serving at the Canadian Embassy in the 'perestroika' era Moscow of Mikhael Gorbachev, or advising Canadian prime ministers and ministers. It is this extraordinary wealth of experience that Mark brings to the students of Trent Oshawa."

Mr. Entwistle was a Canadian diplomat for sixteen years and served as Ambassador of Canada to the Republic of Cuba from 1993 to 1997. Among other achievements, he drafted the 14-point joint Canadian-Cuban declaration that ultimately led to the Chrétien-Castro state visit of 1998, the only one of its kind other than Pierre Trudeau's visit in 1976. Mr. Entwistle is widely regarded as the most activist ambassador Canada ever posted to Cuba. His Foreign Service career included assignments at the Canadian Embassies in Tel Aviv, Israel (1982-1985) and Moscow, in the former USSR (1986-1989), where he was responsible for political analysis and bilateral relations.

Prof. Wright interviewed Mr. Entwistle in 2004 while researching his book on Pierre Trudeau and Fidel Castro, Three Nights in Havana. Since that time, Prof. Wright and Mr. Entwistle have collaborated on several projects, including a highly successful round table on Cuba held at Trent Oshawa in November 2007, and the 2009 book Our Place in the Sun.

Event Details:

Event:   Former Canadian ambassador to Cuba, Mr. Mark Entwistle, at Trent Oshawa
Date:   Monday, June 23, 2014
Time: 9:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Location: Trent University Oshawa, Room 103
  55 Thornton Road
  Oshawa, ON L1J 5Y1