The position was established in 1946 and is based at the Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations, which is located at 466 Lexington Avenue (20th floor) in New York City.

[2] The Permanent Mission of Canada to the World Trade Organization, the United Nations and the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva is the primary avenue for diplomatic relations between the Government of Canada and international organizations based in Geneva, Switzerland,[3] mainly the World Trade Organization (WTO),[4] the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG), the Conference on Disarmament and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

Canada's Permanent Representative to the UN and the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva is Ambassador Leslie E.

[3] Canada's Permanent Representative to the WTO is Ambassador Stephen de Boer.

In addition to local personnel, the mission is composed of staff from various Canadian federal departments and agencies.