Mr. Edmonds graduated from the University of Toronto in 1959 with an honors degree in political science and economics.  Upon graduating, he was awarded several scholarships including a William Lyon Mackenzie King Travelling Fellowship which allowed him to pursue post-graduate work at the London School of Economics in England. In the summer of 1962, he made the first of many visits to Africa as the leader of a team for Operation Crossroads Africa. During this period he was deeply involved with the establishment of the Canadian Peace Corps and the Canadian University Service Overseas (CUSO).

His governmental experience includes the successful completion of more than thirty consulting assignments for all levels of government in Canada, many of which have been with the government of Canada and the Canadian international Development Agency. In 1970, he served with the United Nations Development Program in Indonesia. Over the years he has made some twenty-five visits to the countries of the Pacific Rim developing joint ventures and other investment opportunities. During 1972-77, he was co-founder and chairman of Public Affairs International, one of Canada’s leading consulting companies. His clients included many leading multinational companies and he served on the Canadian Boards of Mobil, Safeway and Boise Cascade.

Mr. Edmonds has made presentations at many industry association conferences and conducted seminars on the governmental/business relations for organizations such as Niagara Institute in Canada, the Public Affairs Council in Washington and the Young Presidents Organization. In 1985-86, he was the Visiting Associate with the America’s Society in New York City. He has lectured and written on Canada-U.S. relations and other international issues and given guest lectures at more than twenty universities in Canada and the United States. He was an early advocate for Canada-U.S. free trade and is currently encouraging support for a treaty of North America between Canada and the United States. He has published articles in the Wall Street Journal and had two major pieces placed in the U.S. Congressional Record. He is co-author of Friends So Different, a book on Canada-U.S. Relations (University of Ottawa Press 1988).