John Short Larke (May 28, 1840 – April 24, 1910) was Canada's first trade commissioner who represented the country in Australia starting in 1895.
John Short Larke was born nearStratton,Cornwall, England, UK.[1] At the age of four, he arrived in Oshawa, Canada West with his parents. Between 1865 and 1878, Larke bought out the owners of theOshawa Vindicator, becoming the sole proprietor of a strongly pro-Conservative newspaper inOshawa, Ontario.[2]
In 1894, Larke became Canada's first trade commissioner following a successful trade delegation to Australia led by Canada's firstMinister of Trade and Commerce,Mackenzie Bowell.[3] Arriving inSydney in 1895, Larke was tasked with developing the market for Canadian products in Australia, developing a list of Canadian suppliers for promoting sales toAustralia, and reporting back toOttawa regarding market conditions.During Larke’s years as a Trade Commissioner, theCanadian Trade Commissioner Service expanded from one man to twenty-one, representing Canada in sixteen countries.[4] Today, theTrade Commissioner Service, part of theForeign Affairs and International Trade Canada, operates over 150 offices in over 100 countries around the world.