Events

At the March 2025 G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, Canada led adoption of the G7 Maritime Security Declaration on co-operation on protecting sea lines of communication and critical subsea infrastructure. Translating those commitments into practical collaboration now requires allies and like-minded partners to share intelligence, regulatory best practices, and public-private response frameworks. Lithuania and Taiwan have emerged as frontline innovators in cable-route diversification, rapid-repair capacity, and legal attribution for grey-zone attacks. 

This closed-door dialogue will bring together perspectives from these and other critical stakeholders to identify tangible next steps for collective action and resilience. The discussion will feature, H.E. Egidijus Meilūnas, Ambassador of Lithuania to Canada, H.E. Harry Tseng, TECO Representative in Canada; Karina Häuslmeier, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of the Republic of Germany to Canada; and Ty Curran, Deputy Director General, International Security, Department of National Defence. The discussion will be moderated by APF Canada's Vice-President, Research & Strategy, Vina Nadjibulla.

This is an invitation-only event.

For inquiries, email events@asiapacific.ca.

U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs and rapidly shifting global security dynamics make Canada’s partnerships in Asia more vital than ever. The urgency is most evident in the South China Sea, where rising tensions over sovereignty, maritime security, and freedom of navigation are reshaping the regional order. 

The Philippines, at the frontline of these developments, is not only a key player in this contested region but also one of Canada’s most valued partners in Asia. Strengthening ties with Manila offers Canada opportunities to advance both economic co-operation and security engagement in the Indo-Pacific. 

The discussion will feature Philippines' policy adviser Richard Heydarian, Senior Lecturer at the University of the Philippines’ Asian Center and an APF Canada 2025 Indo-Pacific Visiting Scholar, for an in-depth discussion on what this all means for the future of bilateral collaboration between the Philippines and Canada.

For inquiries, email events@asiapacific.ca.

Canada and ASEAN elevated their relationship to a Strategic Partnership in 2022 and are currently negotiating a ASEAN-Canada Free Trade Agreement (ACAFTA). As Canada looks to diversify beyond the U.S. and deepen its Indo-Pacific ties, ASEAN—home to over 670 million people—is central to Canada’s long-term economic and strategic interests.

This timely discussion will explore how Canada can align more closely with the priorities of Malaysia (ASEAN Chair in 2025) and the Philippines (Chair in 2026), and how those priorities can be leveraged to advance the Strategic Partnership and ACAFTA negotiations.

This event is organized in co-ordination with the visit of two distinguished experts on Southeast Asia:

• Richard Heydarian, Senior Lecturer in International Affairs at the University of the Philippines Asian Center and 2025 Indo-Pacific Visiting Scholar at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada
   
• Dr. Tricia Yeoh, Associate Professor of Practice at the University of Nottingham Malaysia and Senior Fellow at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada
   

To RSVP, please register through this link.

Due to limited capacity, registration will be confirmed via email by the organizing team.

Speakers:

• Richard Heydarian, University of the Philippines Asian Center; APF Canada 2025 Indo-Pacific Visiting Scholar
• Dr. Tricia Yeoh, University of Nottingham Malaysia; APF Canada Senior Fellow
• Kai Ostwald, HSBC Chair and Director, Institute of Asian Research, UBC; APF Canada Senior Fellow (Discussant)
• Vina Nadjibulla, Vice-President, Research & Strategy, APF Canada (Moderator)
   

We hope you can join us for this important conversation on the future of Canada–ASEAN relations.

The workshop will bring together experts from across the Indo-Pacific to assess key strategic, economic, and security developments in the region since 2020. Participants will examine the effectiveness of co-operative frameworks, evaluate responses to emerging challenges, and develop actionable insights and strategic priorities to strengthen regional resilience and long-term collaboration.

Supported by APF Canada, this workshop is co-organized by  the Council for Strategic and Defense Research (CSDR) and the Department of International Studies at De La Salle University, Manila. APF Canada's Vice-President Research & Strategy Vina Nadjibulla will be speaking at this conference. 

For inquiries, email events@asiapacific.ca.

Join us for a conversation with Jeff Chiba Stearns and Ally Adachi about the release of their new manga, Tomey: The Unyielding Spirit of Tomekichi Homma, which both entertains and informs about an under acknowledged Japanese Canadian hero and social justice change-maker.

Commissioned with funding from the National Coalition of Canadians Against Anti-Asian Racism (NCCAAR) and APF Canada, Tomey: The Unyielding Spirit of Tomekichi Homma tells the true story of one of the first Japanese settlers to arrive in Canada. 

Tomekichi's advocacy and efforts to fight discrimination resulted in the achievement of the right to vote in British Columbia for Japanese Canadians and other Canadians of Asian descent. He also went on to build Canada’s first Japanese school, a hospital, and the first Japanese-language daily newspaper in Canada.

Following its official release on September 20, the graphic novel will be distributed free of charge to libraries, schools and other institutions to increase public awareness of the Japanese Canadian experience.

A downloadable version of Tomey will be available after the book launch on the websites of APF Canada and NCCAAR. 

This event is open to Kakehashi Project alumni and interested members of the public. To register, click here.

NCCAAR is a not-for-profit that advances public education on anti-Asian racism and promotes racial equality through research, knowledge mobilization, education and training and programs, and media engagement. NCCAAR engages in public policy dialogue to develop educational programming and initiatives to combat hate and systemic discrimination in Canadian communities and creates and supports Canadian scholarships and bursaries for students to advance knowledge in the fields of race relations and equity, and the promotion of racial equity.

Tomekichi Homma is an under acknowledged Japanese Canadian whose advocacy and efforts to fight discrimination resulted in the achievement of the right to vote in British Columbia for Japanese Canadians and other Canadians of Asian descent.

Seizing the opportunity of the visit to Toronto of the book’s author, Jeff Chiba Stearns, and the illustrator, Ally Adachi, to participate in the Gei Art Symposium hosted at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre (JCCC) from September 19-21, we will be hosting a book launch of Tomey: The Unyielding Spirit of Tomekichi Homma on September 20 in partnership with the National Coalition of Canadians Against Anti-Asian Racism (NCCAAR) at the JCCC. 

Immediately after the launch, the book will be made available free of charge to school boards across Canada to encourage its use in their K-12 curricula and to other organizations that are interested in promoting the story of this Japanese-Canadian who made a significant contribution to Canadian society.

A downloadable version of Tomey: The Unyielding Spirit of Tomekichi Homma will be available after the book launch on the websites of APF Canada and NCCAAR. 

Email events@asiapacific.ca for more information. 

KAS Canada, the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, and Canadian Institute for Arctic Security are hosting a two-day conference composed of different panels focusing on the energy sector, Indigenous communities' presence, defence sector challenges, and the Pacific view of the Arctic, with a war-gaming session in which you can observe a realistic scenario of climate risks. 

APF Canada's Vice-President Research & StrategyVina Nadjibulla will be speaking at this conference. 

With the goal of addressing some of the most pressing geopolitical challenges of our time, the annual Montreal International Security convenes Canadian and international experts to engage in constructive dialogue and identify strategies to navigate a rapidly changing global order. 

The conference brings together leading practitioners, policymakers, and thought leaders from around the world to Canada, all of whom share a common dedication to understanding and resolving contemporary and emerging challenges to human rights and security.

APF Canada's Vice-President Research & Strategy Vina Nadjibulla will be speaking at this year's conference.