Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government has appointed his wife, Diana Fox Carney, to serve as Canada’s “Ocean Envoy” and chair of the 12th Our Ocean Conference.

Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson announced the appointment Tuesday. The international conference is scheduled to take place in Halifax in 2027.

According to Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Fox Carney will be responsible for connecting ocean conservation with climate policy, Indigenous leadership, economic resilience and maritime security.

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The department emphasized that the appointment is voluntary and unpaid.

Fox Carney is a British-Canadian economist and climate-policy advocate who has advised companies and investors on the transition to what the government describes as a “climate resilient economy.” She has worked for think tanks, private-sector organizations and non-profit groups across Africa, Europe and North America.

“I am honoured to take on the role of Canada’s Ocean Envoy and to help convene the Our Ocean Conference in Halifax,” Fox Carney said in the government announcement.

The Our Ocean Conference was launched in 2014 to secure voluntary commitments from governments, corporations and other organizations on ocean protection. The federal government says more than 3,200 commitments valued at approximately $243 billion have been announced through the conference.

Its priorities include marine protected areas, pollution, climate change, the “sustainable blue economy,” maritime security and sustainable fisheries. The conference also promotes the international target of protecting 30 percent of the world’s oceans by 2030.

Fox Carney holds master’s degrees in agricultural economics from Oxford University and international relations from the University of Pennsylvania. She married Mark Carney in 1994, and the couple has four adult children.