The end of 'spooky season' heralds the arrival of 'summit season,' a jam-packed November that'll see Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at regional summits in Cambodia, the Philippines, and China.
At the Francophonie Summit in Phnom Penh, Carney could meet with counterparts from Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos. Canada upgraded its diplomatic mission in Cambodia to an embassy in 2025.
The ASEAN Summit in Manila provides an opportunity to formally conclude five years of trade talks with ASEAN, an 11-member bloc of Southeast Asian nations. Canada has also been angling for full inclusion in ASEAN's Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus forum and the East Asia Summit for years; accession to either would be a success (and surprise).
At the APEC Summit in Shenzhen, Carney's expected meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping could feature talks on a longer-term arrangement on tariffs and Chinese electric vehicles (EVs).
Ottawa updated its APEC webpage last week, swapping out a reference to Canadian work at APEC on a "just energy transition" for "energy security" and replacing Canada's engagement areas of "counterterrorism, health and security, infectious disease, and energy" with "safe AI adoption, support for SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises), and energy," hinting at the government's priorities at the summit.
A Chinese state-run outlet recently released a video lobbying for "stronger Canada–China cooperation," highlighting Beijing's charm offensive ahead of the summit. Interestingly, many of the interviewees pushed for more Chinese EVs in Canada.
Canada has offered to host APEC in 2029.
