New Consul General and Deputy in Toronto Canada

By Val Matthias. Updated 8:39 p.m., Saturday, May 16, 2026, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4).

The government of St Vincent and the Grenadines has announced the appointment of a new Consul General and Deputy Consul General for Toronto, as officials seek to deepen engagement with the Vincentian diaspora in Canada and expand investment opportunities.

Speaking at the “Invest SVG: Home Is Where the Heart Is” diaspora outreach programme in Toronto Canada, Foreign Affairs Minister Fitzgerald Bramble said cabinet had approved the appointments earlier this week.

The minister told Vincentians gathered at the event that Dr Roderick McKree, a lecturer at the community college originally from Bequia, would serve as the new Consul General in Toronto. 

His deputy will be broadcaster and community activist Lavern ‘Gypsy’ Phillips, Bramble said. 

“We have appointed a consul general and a deputy consul, and both of them will be in place by next month,” the minister said. 

Bramble urged members of the Vincentian diaspora in Canada to support the new diplomatic team.

“Please, let’s work with our officials. Let’s work with our new CG and our new deputy to get our diaspora to where it should be,” he told the audience. 

The appointments form part of a broader restructuring of the country’s overseas missions and diaspora engagement strategy under the new administration.

The Toronto consulate had previously been headed by Fitzgerald Huggins, who served as Consul General from 2013 to 2025, a period of over 12 years. But between Mr. Huggins’ tenure and the new appointments, Government records published earlier this year listed Lasana Andrews as acting consul general.

Earlier this year, the administration announced sweeping diplomatic changes, including the appointment of new ambassadors, high commissioners and consuls as part of what officials described as a strategic reset of foreign service operations and diaspora relations.

Bramble also revealed plans to expand staffing at the Toronto consulate with the addition of an investment officer and a diaspora officer. “That is how serious we are about investment and diaspora affairs,” he said. 

The minister disclosed that four additional officers would also be recruited within the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, including a diaspora projects officer and a diaspora liaison officer. 

The Invest SVG tour “Home is where the heart”  began in London in April before moving to Tortola in the British Virgin Islands earlier this month and then Toronto on May 16. The final stop is scheduled for New York City on May 23.

Invest SVG said the programme was designed to connect members of the diaspora directly with government agencies, financial institutions and private-sector representatives involved in national development. The initiative was first launched in 2025 with engagements in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States.

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