Prior to his appointment as Ambassador, he served for two years in the Privy Council Office as Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet for National Unity, a key position in the federal government up to and during the Quebec referendum on sovereignty of 1995.
[3] Balloch served as Canada's ambassador to China between 1996 and 2001, assuming the role after his predecessor, John Lawrence Paynter, died in 1996.
Paul Wells said regarding the 1995 Quebec referendum, the book provides "the most detailed account we have of the federal government’s actions in that historic campaign".
[8] Following his retirement as ambassador in 2001, he founded The Balloch Group, a Beijing-based investment advisory and merchant banking firm.
In Canada, reaction to the firm's founding was mixed with people both praising his bravery and labelling him as "nuts".