Chris entered Canada's public service as a research economist in the Department of Industry in 1986 and joined the Department of External Affairs later that year. He served abroad in Washington, D.C., Moscow, and with the International Staff at NATO Headquarters in Brussels. While at the Canadian Embassy in Washington from 2000 to 2004, he served on the Permanent Joint Board on Defence (PJBD). In Ottawa, he held a number of positions including serving on the Russia Desk, as deputy director of the Economic Summit Division and as a Director in the Global Partnership Program where he was involved in WMD destruction in Russia. In 2004, he was a senior analyst in the Canada-U.S. Secretariat in the Privy Council Office. After serving as the Director of the Office of the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, he was appointed Ambassador to Finland from 2009 to 2013. Returning to Ottawa, he became the Executive Director of the Circumpolar Affairs Division during Canada's Chairmanship of the Arctic Council from 2013 to 2015 and travelled extensively to Canada's North. He became Executive Director of the Intelligence Policy and Programs Division in 2017 and retired from Global Affairs Canada in 2020. He is a former member of the AINA Board of Directors.