Lawrence Cannon stepping down as ambassador to France in September

Canada's ambassador to France will be stepping down at the end of September.

Lawrence Cannon took to his Twitter account Tuesday to thank former prime minister Stephen Harper for appointing him in May 2012 and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for asking him to stay on a bit longer.

His mandate was to have expired last May but was discreetly renewed last week by the Privy Council on the recommendation of Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland.

Cannon served in the Harper cabinet between 2006 and 2011 before he was defeated in the general election that year.