A crucial spell of Indo-Pacific diplomacy awaits Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney this fall as he prepares for expected trips to the Philippines, Cambodia, and China, and gets ready to host leaders from across Asia.
Carney will be looking to pitch Canada as a reliable, stable partner, an “energy superpower,” and a bridge between Europe and Asia at autumn summits for ASEAN, APEC, La Francophonie, and the G20.
But an absence at one of Canada’s most important diplomatic posts could slow efforts in a key country: Canada’s been without an ambassador to China for five months now, following the departure of Jennifer May in late April.
The Globe and Mail reported in early August that the post would be filled in “the coming weeks,” but Ottawa hasn’t yet named a replacement. For comparison’s sake, when Canada’s ambassador to the U.S., Kirsten Hillman, announced her resignation on December 9, 2025, it took just 13 days for Ottawa to name her successor, Mark Wiseman.
The absence is surprising, given Carney’s focus on recalibrating ties with China, a new bilateral strategic partnership announced in January, and Carney’s expected trip to Shenzhen for the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in November.
In July, China’s embassy in Canada posted a readout of a meeting between Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, stating that Beijing was “willing to work with Canada to... prepare for the next stage of high-level exchanges,” fuelling speculation — initially in Hong Kong’s Ming Pao newspaper, then in Taiwanese outlets — that Xi would travel to Canada.
Barring a surprise pit stop in Canada after meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., this week, a Carney–Xi meeting will have to wait until November.
Lâm headlines fall slate of leader visits
Canada will be welcoming another Indo-Pacific leader this week, however. Vietnam’s leader, Tô Lâm, arrived in Ottawa earlier today for a state visit, the first trip to Canada by a General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1973.
Vietnam is Canada’s largest merchandise trading partner in ASEAN.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong are also expected to visit Canada before the end of 2026.
Singapore’s foreign affairs minister, Vivian Balakrishnan, visited Canada last week. He and Anand inked a “Canada–Singapore Economic Partnership Framework” focusing on emerging technologies, investment, energy and food security, and supply chain resilience.
These priorities have been pillars of Canada’s recent announcements with Indo-Pacific partners, including the Canada–Japan Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and the Canada–India ‘roadmap.’
