[2][3] Blanchard is a graduate of the Université de Montréal, the London School of Economics and Columbia University.

[4] Prior to his appointment to the United Nations, Blanchard was chairman and CEO of McCarthy Tétrault, one of Canada's largest law firms,[5] and was president of the Quebec Liberal Party from 2000 to 2008.

[9] On May 3, 2018 he was named as Canada's Representative to the Ismaili Imamat, an announcement coinciding with the Canadian Diamond Jubilee visit of the Aga Khan.

[10] Blanchard retired from his diplomatic postings on July 31, 2020, shortly after Canada lost the 2020 United Nations Security Council election.

Effective September 8, 2020, he is an executive vice-president of pension fund manager Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec in charge of its CDPQ Global division, with responsibility for the United States/Latin America, Europe and Asia/Pacific.