In the News

The case for diversifying Canada’s trade partners

The Logic, May 19, 2026

Featuring: Vina Nadjibulla, Vice-President Research & Strategy, APF Canada

Excerpt: “For Canada to diversify its trading relationships and to reduce overreliance on the U.S., it needs to look at the Indo-Pacific. That’s where there is the greatest potential for deeper economic partnerships,” says Vina Nadjibulla,.

...To build relationships with Indo-Pacific countries, Nadjibulla says Canada needs to move away from a transactional approach to trade toward more comprehensive partnerships.

She says that the like-minded democratic nature of certain countries, in addition to their economic importance to Canada, make them primary partner prospects. “With Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, we can have comprehensive strategic partnerships that look at everything from economy to intelligence sharing to defence industrial production.”

Leaders dial up diplomacy: String of diplomatic visits by global leaders to shore up ties

CNA, May 18, 2026

Featuring: Vina Nadjibulla, Vice-President Research & Strategy, APF Canada

Excerpt: "For Prime Minister Modi, I think 2026 is a year of deepening engagement with Europe...he's prioritizing countries that, at a first glance, may not seem like major powers in Europe [such as] The Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden, but they are major technological and innovation hubs."

Nadjibulla says this push by India for strengthened European relations comes "in the context of strained relations with the U.S. because, until recently, India was really banking on the U.S. as its major partner for technology, innovation and investment. Now it has to diversify."

She adds that India "offers scale and a large market" for European economies facing a strained relationship with China. If this partnership between European partners and India is "pursued correctly... [and] the free trade agreement is implemented, [this] could be one of the most consequential relationships of the century."

Consequences of Sino-American relations on Canada: David Savoie

ICI Radio-Canada, May 15, 2026

Featuring: Vina Nadjibulla, Vice-President Research & Strategy, APF Canada

Excerpt: Nadjibulla says "that it's going to become really difficult" to manage a sustainable, effective relationship with Beijing "if essentially [Canada] is forced to simply import products from China."

"That's exactly what happened in the solar energy sector with solar panels. That's what's happening now with electric vehicles, and it's going to happen in more and more sectors where China dominates. This essentially leads to deindustrialization in other countries. So I think the economic security pressures coming from China are very real. That's what Japan is feeling, that's what Europe is feeling, and that's what the countries of Southeast Asia are feeling."

U.S. President Returning to Washington

CTV News, May 6, 2026

Featuring: Jeff Nankivell, President & CEO, APF Canada

Excerpt: Nankivell says that there are "a lot of conversations that are underway" between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, despite no apparent "breakthroughs" from their recent meeting in Beijing.

"The atmospherics were quite positive on the Chinese side. They are using a new phrase, 'constructive, strategic stability,' and on the American side they're talking about co-operation."

He adds that the meeting represents a "continued easing of tensions between these two superpowers and, for Canada, that means there's a little more room for autonomy ... to carve out its own relationship with China."

Canada pushes to finalise Asean trade deal to cut US reliance

SCMP, May 15, 2026

Featuring: Rachael Gurney, senior Project Specialist, International Trade & Investment, APF Canada

Excerpt: “ASEAN is a central component to Canada’s trade diversification strategy and is framed as the key to trade, investment and supply chain resilience in the Indo-Pacific Strategy,” said Rachael Gurney, a senior project specialist in international trade and investment at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada.

Gurney added that Canada had already strengthened its foothold in the region through the Canada-ASEAN Strategic Partnership, its Indo-Pacific focus and government-led trade missions targeting key markets.

According to figures from the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, Canadian companies invested C$40 billion in ASEAN member states between 2003 and 2024, representing 12 per cent of total Canadian investment in the Indo-Pacific.

FROM TIDE TO TARMAC: A fast-growing trade corridor is redefining B.C.’S seafood industry.

BC Business Magazine, May 15 (June edition), 2026

Featuring: Jeff Nankivell, President & CEO, APF Canada

Excerpt: The PM’S challenge to double exports from Canada to non-u.s. nations was a hot topic at this spring’s Canada-in-Asia Conference in Singapore, where business leaders, diplomats and policymakers gathered to strengthen ties between Canadian exporters and Asian markets. Organized by the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada—the country’s only dedicated organization focused on strengthening relationships with Asia—the event drew roughly 660 attendees from across the globe with about one-third travelling from Canada.

The goal is simple: create the networks Canadian companies need to operate in a relationship-driven region—something CEO and president Jeff Nankivell, who spent 33 years in Canada’s foreign service, deeply understands about operating abroad. “There’s no substitute for being there in person,” Nankivell says. “If Canadian companies want to do business in Asia, they have to be in the room, building those relationships.”

Infrastructure plays a central role in that effort. “We need to continue expanding passenger capacity and air connections,” notes Nankivell. “When those flights grow, the cargo capacity grows with them.”

McGuinty declines to say whether Canada would send more ships through Taiwan Strait

The Globe and Mail, May 15, 2026

Featuring: Vina Nadjibulla, Vice-President Research & Strategy, APF Canada

Excerpt: Vina Nadjibulla, vice-president of research and strategy at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, said China finds itself in a more powerful position today because of the protectionist actions of the Trump administration, which have fragmented and alienated Western allies that previously had assembled a common front to deal with China under the Biden administration.

“China has a lot of leverage and is finding itself in a position of strength, so I think they are going to put increasing pressure on everyone, Canada included,” she said. Nadjibulla said Canada should continue to “exercise freedom of navigation to treat Taiwan Strait as international waters, and ideally do so in partnership with Australia, with the United States and with Europeans.”

She pointed out that Canada sailing the Taiwan Strait was welcomed by countries in the region. She said Canada is charting a separate course with China from the U.S. and despite criticism from the Trump administration.

“Our policy on China should not be dictated by Washington, and our policy on Taiwan should not be dictated by Beijing,” Ms. Nadjibulla said.

Trump-Xi Meeting in Beijing

OMNI News, May 14, 2026

Featuring: Vina Nadjibulla, Vice-President Research & Strategy, APF Canada

Excerpt: Nadjibulla says that, in watching these meetings, the public is seeing a "different emphasis" between the U.S. and China when it comes to trade and investment.

"It is clear, leading up to the meeting, that the two sides have different priorities for what they want to get out of this summit."

She added that, "As for Canada, we need to watch what the U.S. ends up doing with China because [Ottawa] will need to negotiate [its] own renewal of USMCA, and the U.S. will likely put pressure on Canada and Mexico to align their policies — particularly in sensitive sectors such as EVs — with the U.S. when it comes to China."

Trump Talks with Xi to Include Trade, Iran War

CTV News, May 13, 2026

Featuring: Vina Nadjibulla, Vice-President Research & Strategy, APF Canada

Excerpt: Nadjibulla tells CTV News that China does appear to have “a lot more confidence, a lot more leverage, and a lot more cards in the short term” on the Iran issue going into this meeting with U.S. President Trump.

But she notes, “both sides want to have stability, and they want the truce that they negotiated late last year to continue.”

She also added that while the U.S. has become a lot more unpredictable and predatory towards both allies and others, “China remains a very complex partner for many, both because of the economic security challenges as well as the national security challenges that it presents to Canada and others.”

Major projects, mega-friction

Politico, May 13, 2026

Featuring: Vina Nadjibulla, Vice-President Research & Strategy, APF Canada

Excerpt: Jennifer May finished her tenure in the top diplomatic Canadian post in China last month. Nadjibulla told Playbook that Jennifer May was a “terrific” diplomat in a difficult moment in bilateral relations, navigating high tensions to new rapprochement with Beijing.

“It's a relationship that would require a lot of management to make sure that we can continue to deepen economic engagements where interests align,” said Nadjibulla, adding “issues like agriculture, energy and diversifying our export markets, including to China, will be key.”

'U.S. President Trump and Chine President Xi will meet in Beijing this week

CBC News - Power & Politics, May 12, 2026

Featuring: Vina Nadjibulla, Vice-President Research & Strategy, APF Canada

Excerpt: (Starting at 1:00:18) Nadjibulla says, “This is the first meeting” between Trump and Xi of what is likely to be “four summits in 2026.” As such, she does not predict any “big breakthroughs” in this initial meeting, but does foresee “substantial progress on trade issues … and the Iran crisis.”

On the Iran issue, “President Trump doesn’t want to go hat in hand, essentially pleading with the Chinese to save him from the war of his own creation … but of course I think he is hoping that China will continue to use its leverage with Iran because, ultimately, China does want the Strait of Hormuz to remain open for its own domestic economic reasons … but beyond that there is not much agreement on what Trump wants to see … and what Beijing wants.”

B.C. LPG exports to China surge as Beijing diversifies energy supply

BIV News, May 8, 2026

Featuring: Vina Nadjibulla, Vice-President Research & Strategy, APF Canada

Excerpt: B.C.’s geographic position provides a strong advantage in supplying Asian markets, according to Vina Nadjibulla, vice-president of research and strategy for Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada (APF Canada).

“It’s faster shipping time and there are no choke points so it’s much more reliable,” she said, adding that this may partly explain why China is promoting Canada as an alternative source on its state-affiliated media.

APF Canada has recommended against co-operation with China in sectors including AI, defence and critical minerals over national security concerns, but Nadjibulla said energy is one area where the two countries’ interests align. However, she cautioned that Canada should avoid replacing dependence on the U.S. with over-reliance on China.

“When it comes to agricultural and energy exports, and even some areas of clean energy and renewables, we absolutely have to partner with China,” she said.

Conseil des relations internationales de Montréal

ASEAN facing geopolitical shocks: an opportunity for Canada

Montreal Council on Foreign Relations (CORIM), May 7, 2026

Featuring: Alexandre Veilleux, Senior Program Manager, Montreal, APF Canada

Excerpt: "The 48th Summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was held this week in the Philippines, with an agenda heavily shaped by the repercussions of the war in Iran. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has been acutely felt in Southeast Asia, where economies rely heavily on imports of oil and liquefied natural gas transiting through this strategic chokepoint.

The Summit’s priority themes—energy supply, food security, and maritime security—are areas in which Canada can offer distinctive contributions to ASEAN member states, while also advancing its own efforts to diversify its economy beyond the United States and strengthen collaboration with middle powers."

Senior diplomat skeptical of Carney’s middle powers pitch

The Canadian Press, May 6, 2026

Featuring: Jeff Nankivell, President & CEO, APF Canada

Excerpt: Malaysia’s high commissioner in Canada says she is skeptical about Prime Minister Mark Carney’s push to have middle powers band together against the great power of the world’s dominant nations.

Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada president Jeff Nankivell said leaders aren’t publicly signing up to join the coalition, though many are expressing interest in private.

In his Davos speech, Carney said the world has entered a risky new age of great power rivalries and that Canada is working to expand non-U.S. trade in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump’s protectionist policies.

India–New Zealand FTA seen as blueprint for Canada–India trade deal

Hindustan Times, May 3, 2026

Featuring: Vina Nadjibulla, Vice-President Research & Strategy, APF Canada

Excerpt: Nadjibulla said, “When both sides are willing to make something happen, it’s possible.” She added the deal showed that India “is serious about diversifying trade agreements,” and the framework provided Canada with an “opportunity” to “look at what was decided.”

APF Canada underscored the reality that while Canada-India trade was worth about C$31 billion in 2024, it was “structurally imbalanced and under-leveraged.”

Carney ‘strong’ in year one, now must deliver on promises in Canada

Al Jazeera, April 17, 2026

Featuring: Vina Nadjibulla, Vice-President Research & Strategy, APF Canada

Excerpt: With the U.S. no longer the anchor of a rules-based order, and with a “deep rupture” now caused by changes in Washington, “Carney has aimed to build at home and diversify abroad, as Ottawa’s dependence and long ties have become a source of weakness,” said Vina Nadjibulla.

“And he’s doing this at a speed, scale, and level of ambition that we haven’t seen in recent years… Carney recognizes [Canada] need[s] more infrastructure to be able to diversify trade.”

Nadjibulla added that “2026 will be a harder year for Canada’s economic diversification agenda and USMCA negotiations, because it will be about implementation and delivery, especially given U.S.–Canada dynamics.”

Canada Seminar Reveals New Developments In Foreign Interference, Proposes Society-Wide Response Strategies

Vision Times, April 27, 2026

Featuring: Jeff Nankivell, President & CEO, APF Canada

Excerpt: Transnational interference is a pertinent issue facing the free world, and the experts at the conference said security boundaries are essential.

“Our role is to prepare Canadians,” said Jeff Nankivell, the President and CEO of APF Canada. “We must learn to see the world ‘as it is,’ even as we continue working toward the world ‘as it should be.’”

The moderator of the seminar, Elizabeth Donkervoort, Senior Advisor on China Programs at the Asia Pacific Foundation, stated clearly that while the discussion focused heavily on China—which is widely regarded as one of the most mature and pervasive sources of foreign interference globally—this does not mean ignoring potential interference from other countries.

Reach Alliance at CanWIN Global Summit 2026: How women entrepreneurs are shaping the economy and driving global change

Reach Alliance, April 24, 2026

Featuring: The Canadian Women’s International Network (CanWIN) Global Summit 2026

Excerpt: The Reach Alliance sent a delegation of staff, researchers, and alumni to the CanWIN (Canadian Women’s International Network) Global Summit 2026 in Toronto March 26-27. The third installment of this annual gathering convened women leaders, entrepreneurs, and gender equality organizations to celebrate the network’s success and advance discussions on female leadership, inclusive trade, and expansion into Asia Pacific markets.

The gathering came after the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada’s women-only business mission to the Philippines and Singapore in February 2026. Women business leaders from across Canada and Asia were well represented, spanning a diverse range of industries, including information and communications technology, sustainable energy, health technology, and consumer and retail markets.

Not-so-sweet deal for Singapore’s refineries as they shift to US, alternative crudes

The Business Times (Singapore), April 23, 2026

Featuring: Barrett Bingley, Asia Regional Director, Asia Regional Office (Singapore), APF Canada

Excerpt: Canadian heavy crude has emerged as another lifeline and diversification strategy for Singapore’s refineries.

Bingley says that blending Canadian heavy crude into Middle Eastern grades is a “very real option” for ExxonMobil’s refinery in Singapore.

“(In the) immediate term, blends of up to 10 to 15 per cent would be possible, most likely Cold Lake, Pacific Cold Lake and Fort Hills Reduced Carbon Lifecycles Dilbit."

He also noted that the Singapore Refining Company on Jurong Island can handle such blends, as well as other Canadian grades such as Borealis Heavy and Hangingstone Dilbit, provided that technical elements – for instance, diluted bitumen residue – are carefully managed.

Watch the video breakdown here on The Business Times YouTube channel

Varcoe: Alberta eyes more trade in Asia, as South Korea waives oil tariffs, explores investment in province

Calgary Herald, April 22, 2026

Featuring: Sun Ryung Park, Senior Research Specialist, Northeast Asia, APF Canada

Excerpt: The ability of Canada to send more oil to Asia has been proven by the successful startup of the Trans Mountain pipeline — and it could continue to grow with the removal of trade barriers this week.

Sun noted South Korea relies on imports for more than 97 per cent of its fossil fuel consumption.

“Korea is desperately looking for alternatives for crude oil and LNG — and Canada is definitely one good candidate... this is a really good chance for Canada to be a reliable supplier in the long term."

In the News

APF Canada's media responses to the latest issues and events in Asia presented in chronological order