Event Archive

Canada's relationship with the People's Republic of China (PRC) is entering a new chapter — and the opportunities are significant. Renewed diplomatic ties, reduced tariffs on key exports, and fresh interest from major Chinese investors signal real momentum. But seizing those opportunities requires more than optimism. It requires understanding how Beijing operates and guardrails to protect Canadian values, as well as economic and national security interests.

The Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada is launching PRC Power Abroad and the Guardrails We Need — a new webinar series unpacking the PRC's evolving foreign policy toolkit. Each session brings leading global experts to offer practical insights for Canadian businesses, policymakers, and advocates looking to engage China strategically — and on Canada's terms.

Session 1: Launch & Overview of PRC Influence Globally (The China Index) and Lessons from Taiwan

How do you measure something that rarely announces itself? This session introduces the China Index, the first cross-regional project to track and visualize PRC overseas influence across nine domains — from media and academia to military, technology, and domestic politics. TTCat, co-founder of Taiwanese think tank DoubleThink Lab will walk through where Chinese Communist Party (CCP) influence is deepening, where it has plateaued, and where it has been successfully pushed back, with particular attention to Taiwan's hard-won expertise in recognizing and countering influence operations at scale. 

Explore and sign up for other Sessions in this ongoing series.

The 2025-2026 cohort of the Canada-Asia Young Professionals Fellows program will convene in Vancouver for a capstone event during which they will meet with local experts and stakeholders in Canada's Indo-Pacific relationships. 

Through this program, now in its fourth year, APF Canada selects up to 20 early-career professionals from government (all levels), international organizations, law, academia, and the private sector for a nine-month program of virtual engagement with leading thinkers in Canada and internationally on major developments happening in the Indo-Pacific and their potential implications for Canada.

Speakers for this year’s conference will include Mr. David van Hemmen, Vice President of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade; Professor Kai Ostwald, Director of the Institute of Asian Research at the University of British Columbia; Mr. Daniel Baart, Geopolitical Analyst at Maritime Forces Pacific; Ms. Elizabeth Donkervoort, Director of the China Strategic Risks Institute; and Professor Nari Pyo of the Korean National Diplomatic Academy; among others. 

APF Canada is co-hosting a closed-door briefing with the Canada-ASEAN Business Council (CABC) on Wednesday, May 6, at 11:30 a.m. at the Asia Regional Office in Singapore. The session will feature Asia Regional Director Barrett Bingley, alongside June Goh, Senior Oil Market Analyst at Sparta Commodities, both of whom will share insights on regional fuel transport dynamics, including imports and trans-shipments, Singapore landings, Canadian exports, and the broader reserves situation across Southeast Asia.

This discussion builds on themes raised in Bingley's recent Business Times article, in which Goh was also quoted, offering a timely opportunity to further examine developments in regional energy markets.

The briefing will convene representatives from Canadian provinces as well as key stakeholders across the ecosystem, including Global Affairs Canada and Export Development Canada, for an informed exchange on emerging trends and considerations in the sector.

The Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada is organizing a symposium titled Economic Security: The Future of Canadian Trade and Investment with Asia. The event will feature a keynote address and moderated discussion with Lizzi C. Lee of the Asia Society on China’s economic and technological strategy and its implications for Canada. 

The keynote will be followed by two panels bringing together APF Canada’s 2025–2026 John H. McArthur Research Fellows: Ari Van Assche, Danielle Goldfarb, Pascale Massot, and Kati Suominen, along with leading policy experts, scholars, and practitioners, for a focused discussion on the risks and opportunities shaping the future of trade and investment between Canada and the Indo-Pacific. 

Topics to be explored include China’s techno-economic strategy, AI, trade, and Canada’s competitiveness, supply chain resilience and diversification, critical minerals and strategic supply chains, and Indo-Pacific strategic dependencies and resilience.

​Mississauga, Ontario, is one of Canada’s most globally connected cities, with deep and long‑standing trade and investment ties across the Indo‑Pacific—particularly with Japan—and a growing number of firms active in India and other priority markets.

​As geopolitical and economic conditions continue to evolve, the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada is proud to partner with Invest Mississauga for an xpert roundtable designed to deliver timely and strategic insight for industry leaders who are navigating the complexities of international growth, improving supply chain resilience, and exploring emerging global opportunities.

​We believe this roundtable will be an exceptional platform to engage with experts, exchange ideas, and gain valuable perspectives that will help shape successful strategies in today’s rapidly changing landscape.

​Featured Speaker:

​Vina Nadjibulla, Vice‑President, Research & Strategy, Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada

The Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada is supporting the Canada–Asia Arctic Dialogue, organized by the Université de Montréal through anAPF Canada Canada–Asia Joint Research Grant, and hosted in Singapore. The dialogue will bring together a group of leading scholars, policymakers, and practitioners from Canada and the Arctic Council Observer states in Asia to exchange perspectives on Arctic governance and regional co-operation.

The Dialogue, taking place on April 27–28, 2026, will provide a platform for in-depth discussions on key policy issues shaping the future of the Arctic, including Arctic shipping and navigation, sustainable development, climate change and environmental protection, security and infrastructure, and the evolving geopolitics of the region.

The objective of the dialogue is to showcase Canada’s expertise and leadership in Arctic governance, foster greater understanding of shared environmental challenges, and explore opportunities for collaboration between Canada and Asian partners while reinforcing a rules-based international order in the Arctic.

Dr. Hema Nadarajah, Program Manager for Southeast Asia at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, will deliver opening remarks.

Diving into 50 years of innovation, A Chip Odyssey traces Taiwan’s remarkable rise at the heart of the global semiconductor industry—now a cornerstone of the AI era and advanced chip manufacturing. The film highlights how this industry has transformed the island into an indispensable technological powerhouse.

The screening will be followed by a discussion with specialists Dr. Olga Alexeeva and Dr. Honghong Tinn, who will examine the sector’s strategic role in Taiwan’s trajectory, its weight in the U.S.–China rivalry, and the systemic risks that a disruption of Taiwanese exports to Western companies would pose in the event of a conflict. A unique opportunity to understand how a single industry can shape the balance of global power.

Dr. James Curran will offer reflections on how Australia and Canada are navigating a rapidly changing global environment marked by intensifying great-power competition, geopolitical fragmentation, and growing pressures on the international order. He will speak to the strategic choices facing both countries as they seek to strengthen resilience, expand their room for manoeuvre, and deepen engagement across the Indo-Pacific. He will also offer reflections on the evolution of Australia’s relationship with China and what it reveals about the opportunities and constraints facing middle powers today.

Dr. Curran is a professor of modern history and an expert in Australian politics and foreign affairs. He is also a columnist at The Australian Financial Review and the author of Australia’s China Odyssey: From Euphoria to Fear (2022). Prior to joining the University of Sydney, he served in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Department of Defence.

The session will be moderated by the APF Canada's Vice President, Research and Strategy, Vina Nadjibulla.

Please contact events@asiapacific.ca for any questions.

APF Canada is pleased to support the BC Critical Minerals Forum, a timely two-day event examining how British Columbia and Canada are positioning critical minerals within global supply chains, industrial policy, and allied security priorities.

The Forum brings together senior decision-makers from government, First Nations, mining, finance, and infrastructure to address the policy, permitting, and investment challenges shaping the next phase of critical minerals development in B.C.

Taking place April 14–15 in Vancouver, the program features 50+ speakers and participants, including representatives from the Government of BC, NRCan, the Department of National Defence, Canada Growth Fund, Canada Infrastructure Bank, BC Hydro, Indigenous governments, mining companies, and capital providers.

For APF Canada’s network, the Forum offers a valuable opportunity to connect with project developers and policymakers, and to explore potential international partnerships, trade linkages, and investment pathways across the critical minerals value chain. 

Save 20% with code APF20

From April 13-15, APF Canada will host delegates from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Jakarta, Indonesia-based think-tank, for a series of meetings and other engagements with Canadian stakeholders from government, the private sector, think-tanks, and academia, on possible areas of co-operation in economics, security, diplomacy, technology, among others.

The engagements will include an invitation-only roundtable discussion at the Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto, on April 15.

Please contact hema.nadarajah@asiapacific.ca for any questions.

APF Canada will host a delegation from the Foreign Policy Strategy Agency (FPSA), a think-tank affiliated with the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Indonesian Embassy for a discussion on advancing the Canada-Indonesia relationship. 

Topics of discussion include issues related to strategic autonomy, energy resilience, strengthening middle-power partnerships, and building public awareness of the value of the bilateral relationship in both countries. 

Please contact alexandre.veilleux@asiapacific.ca for any questions.

APF Canada is pleased to co‑organize this conference on Taiwan-Quebec relations, taking place on April 8 in Montreal. The panel will feature Taiwan’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Wu Chihchung François, Dr. Stéphane Paquin, and Dr. Yann Roche, with opening remarks by Dr. Alexandre Veilleux. 

A networking reception will follow the discussion.

APF Canada hosted an invitation-only roundtable with Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, The Hon. Anita Anand, on recent developments and future directions in Canadian foreign policy and Canada’s relations with the Indo-Pacific. 

With the restoration of high commissioners and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's landmark visit to India signalling renewed purpose, the Canada-India relationship is entering a new chapter — and the direction is clear.

Indiaspora invites you to join them for Canada and India: The Road Ahead, a virtual conversation on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, from 8:00–9:00 PM EST with three distinguished voices:

• Vina Nadjibulla — Vice-President Research and Strategy, Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada
• Goldy Hyder — President & CEO, Business Council of Canada
• Nadir Patel — Former High Commissioner of Canada to India 
   

Together they will examine what this crucial moment means for trade, investment, and the Indo-Pacific — and for those who call both home.

The International Economics and Security Division (IESD) of the Australian Commonwealth Treasury is organizing an IESD Seminar Series session in conjunction with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to Australia.

APF Canada’s Vice-President, Research & Strategy, Vina Nadjibulla, will join the seminar to provide a Canadian perspective on the Prime Minister’s visit. 

Speakers:

Professor Mark Beeson, Adjunct Professor at the Australia-China Relations Institute, The University of Technology Sydney

Professor Evelyn Goh, Shedden Professor of Strategic Policy Studies, The Australian National University

Vina Nadjibulla, Vice-President, Research & Strategy, Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada
 

Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada’s Vice-President Research & Strategy, Vina Nadjibulla, will speak at the Spring 2026 Lecture Series hosted by the Taipei School of Economics and Political Science. Her talk will examine Prime Minister Mark Carney’s approach to Middle Power diplomacy and Canada’s evolving Indo-Pacific strategy.

Please visit click here for more information.

APF Canada is co-hosting this high-level strategic dialogue with the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei (CTOT), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of China (MOFA), National Taiwan University (NTU), and the University of Ottawa.  

The Track 1.5 Dialogue, on March 18, 2026, will bring together a curated group of policymakers, industry leaders, and experts for a candid, forward-looking discussion on strengthening economic security co-operation between Canada and Taiwan. 

This Strategic Dialogue will focus on four core themes: Supply chain resilience, including semiconductors and trusted digital infrastructure; critical minerals–to–manufacturing linkages, and opportunities for joint value-chain development; industrial co-operation, particularly in emerging and dual-use technologies; and collective responses to economic coercion and support mechanisms for industry.

The objective of this dialogue is to identify near-term, actionable opportunities to deepen co-operation, align policy approaches, and mobilize industry, academic, and government partners toward shared economic security priorities.  

Download the Background Note.