He served concurrently as British Ambassador to the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and to Timor Leste.

He is a career member of the UK Foreign Service and has occupied a series of challenging and sensitive senior diplomatic appointments.

He joined the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in 1974 and has served in a wide variety of diplomatic roles, both at home and overseas.

His overseas postings have had a strong focus on the emerging markets of the Asia Pacific and support to UK business, but he has also served in Africa, the US and Latin America.

As a noted expert on the politics and economics of the nations of South East Asia, Canning has also lectured at a range of academic and other institutions including the Royal College of Defence Studies.