{"record":{"aliases":[],"appointmentIds":["canada-014a7a4b0c3970"],"appointmentsDataset":"https://chanceries.org/diplomats.json","archivalSources":["election-dispatch"],"canonicalUrl":"https://chanceries.org/diplopedia/people/peter-towe-4bf93f06e2/","countrySlug":"canada","entityId":"https://chanceries.org/diplopedia/people/peter-towe-4bf93f06e2/#person","eventIds":[],"expandedParagraphs":["Peter Milburn Towe spent thirty-four years in Canada’s Department of External Affairs. He represented Canada at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and served as deputy director general of the organization that preceded the Canadian International Development Agency before becoming ambassador to the United States.","From Washington in October 1980, Towe assessed the American presidential election for Ottawa. He considered a Carter victory preferable for Canada and its allies and warned that Ronald Reagan’s market policies and approach to arms control could collide with Canadian priorities. After government service, he worked with the Petro-Canada International Assistance Corporation."],"id":"canada:peter towe","identifiers":{},"legacyPersonIds":[],"legacyUrl":"https://chanceries.org/diplomat-4bf93f06e2e84431eaed.html","name":"Peter Towe","notes":[],"paragraphSources":[["gg-citation"],["election-dispatch","gg-citation"]],"profileUrl":"diplomat-4bf93f06e2e84431eaed.html","relatedEvents":[{"basis":"tenure-overlap","country":"Canada","date":"January 1980","description":"Canadian diplomats shelter six Americans in Tehran. Canadian passports and a joint rescue operation help bring them out of Iran, turning diplomatic trust into a matter of personal safety.","id":"canada-caper","note":"Named people and the recorded mission tenure provide the connection; overlap does not establish personal participation.","sourceUrls":["https://www.international.gc.ca/gac-amc/history-histoire/ken-taylor.aspx?lang=eng"],"title":"The Canadian caper","url":"Canada.html#history-canada-caper"}],"relatedPeople":[],"relationships":[],"researchStatus":"reviewed","reviewedOn":"2026-10-28","revision":"e02b5384ec34e0de","sources":[{"accessedOn":"2026-10-28","date":"","id":"gg-citation","locator":"Order of Canada citation","publisher":"Governor General of Canada","title":"Peter Milburn Towe","type":"official-biography","url":"https://www.gg.ca/en/honours/recipients/146-4411"},{"accessedOn":"2026-10-28","date":"1980-10-06","id":"election-dispatch","locator":"LAC RG 25, vol. 28307, file 20-1-2-USA pt. 60","publisher":"University of Toronto, Canada Declassified","title":"Calling it as he wants to see it: Canada's ambassador on the 1980 elections","type":"archive","url":"https://declassified.library.utoronto.ca/exhibits/show/an-unexpected-and-challenging-/calling-it-as-he-wants-to-see-"},{"accessedOn":"","date":"","id":"mission-de9f551a05fb831eed3c","locator":"","publisher":"","title":"Peter Towe — mission record (1977–1981)","type":"Mission record","url":"https://w05.international.gc.ca/CHOMA-CDMCE/Posting/View/2363"},{"accessedOn":"","date":"Accessed 21 October 2026","id":"mission-3c9e89462afdcdc1960d","locator":"Tenure chronology; pre-1989 appointments belong to earlier chancery buildings.","publisher":"","title":"Canadian ambassadors to the United States: roster","type":"Mission record","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ambassadors_of_Canada_to_the_United_States"},{"accessedOn":"","date":"","id":"mission-a65c92457738d8cda05a","locator":"","publisher":"","title":"Peter Towe — mission record (1977–1981)","type":"Mission record","url":"https://www.international.gc.ca/gac-amc/history-histoire/ken-taylor.aspx?lang=eng"}],"topics":["U.S. elections","development assistance","economic diplomacy"]},"schemaVersion":1}