In the News

CBC's Aarti Pole speaks with Vina Nadjibulla of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada

CBC News, May 25, 2026

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

Excerpt: Nadjibulla says this "significant visit... builds on the reset in the Canada-India relationship that was launched by Prime Minister Carney a year ago."

As the reset aims to "accelerate the free trade negotiations that are now happening between Canada and India... Minister Goyal's visit to Canada is in some ways keeping up that momentum." She adds that the delegation is made up of "Indian businesses who are interested in doing more with Canada... this is about building confidence, about showcasing that there is a lot of opportunity" between the two economies.

"There is a lot of complementarity, but Canada and India need to spend a lot more time getting to know each other."

India's commerce minister says Carney's recent visit helped reset relations

The Canadian Press (via BNN Bloomberg), May 20, 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 in an interview that there is political will on both sides to move as quickly as possible on a free trade agreement.

She said both countries are looking to diversify their relationships and reduce their dependence on the United States. India recently signed trade deals with the European Union, the United Kingdom and New Zealand.

“With the U.S. becoming unreliable, India is now pivoting to Europe as well as to other Western economies like Australia and Canada to be able to meet its needs for capital, technology and innovation."

India is also "completely dependent on exports of gas and (liquefied petroleum gas) and about 50 per cent of that comes from the Middle East and by way of Hormuz,” she said. “India is very much in the market now to find other sources for its energy needs.”

Canada-US relations ahead of the World Cup

Radio Télévision Suisse, May 21, 2026

Featuring: Jeff Nankivell, President & CEO, APF Canada

Excerpt: Nankivell says that a "majority of Canadians feel they need to distance themselves from the U.S., compared to the relations they had before" the second Trump Administration. "But it is with a lot of regrets, sincere regrets."

He adds that "Canadians believe that they were the ones who were rejected by the government of the United States."

Canadian Ambassador presents investor to PM Xanana to invest in TL

Tatoli, May 21, 2026

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

Excerpt: “Canadian Ambassador to Timor-Leste, Jess Dutton, said he and the delegation were honoured to meet the Prime Minister, to discuss cooperation services that they prioritize investing in."

He also said that "Canada is very proud to have provided $15 million in concessional funding for the new solar park being built" and is interested in exploring other future investment opportunities.

Canadian investors explore investment opportunities in Timor-Leste

Tatoli, May 21, 2026

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

Excerpt: “The Ambassador of Canada to Indonesia and Timor-Leste, Jess Dutton, on Thursday held a productive bilateral meeting with Xanana Gusmão at the Government Palace in Dili.

...During the meeting, Ambassador Jess Dutton introduced a delegation comprising representatives from the Canada-ASEAN Business Council, the Asia pacific Foundation of Canada, BlackBerry Government Solutions, National Bank of Canada and export Development Canada (EDC), who are seeking to explore investment opportunities in the country."

Most Canadians look unfavourably on India, trade minister told

The Logic, May 20, 2026

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

Excerpt: “In a report published in March shortly after Carney’s visit to Mumbai and New Delhi, the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada said trade between Canada and India was already performing below expectations and Canada is now at risk of getting crowded out by others. “Without preferential access,” the think tank wrote, “Canadian exporters would risk a gradual erosion of their competitiveness in one of the world’s fastest-growing markets.”

Vina Nadjibulla, vice-president of research and strategy at the Asia-Pacific Foundation, said much has evolved since Ottawa last consulted with Canadians on a trade deal with India in 2009.

“The world is in a very different place,” Nadjibulla said in an interview. “Canada’s diversification imperatives are now much more urgent and India is a much more powerful economy now.”

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, makes them primary partner prospects. “With Korea, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, we can have comprehensive strategic partnerships that look at everything from economy to intelligence sharing to defence industrial production.”

(Note: This piece was sponsored by Hanwha Ocean and produced independently of The Logic’s newsroom in consultation with the advertiser).

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.

In the News

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