Born in Amherst, Nova Scotia, the oldest son of James Alexander Christie and Evelyn Read,[1][2] Christie received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Acadia University in 1905, and a Bachelor of Law degree from Harvard University in 1909.
He was an adviser to Prime Minister Robert Borden's on international problems and was his assistant during World War I.
He resigned from the civil service in 1923 and worked at a London, England financial company from 1923 to 1926.
From 1929 to 1935, he was a legal adviser to the Beauharnois Light Heat and Power Company.
From 1939 until his death in 1941, he was the Canadian Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the United States.