Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada

09/04/2026

is emerging in Canada not only as a means to promote innovation and productivity, but also as a tradable asset.

But what trade policies do Canadian AI-intensive firms face in the Indo-Pacific region?

Kati Suominen, Founder and CEO of Nextrade Group and one of APF Canada's 2025-26 John H. McArthur Research Fellows, reviews Asia's digital trade landscape, access to trade services across the region through existing multilateral agreements, and operational barriers to Canadian firms looking to break into this market.

📍Key Takeaways:

- Canada’s AI-intensive services face high barriers in certain Indo-Pacific markets, especially China, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, South Korea, and Thailand.

- Canadian AI-intensive firms have better access to Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and Singapore, thanks to the CPTPP and these economies’ overall moderate applied services restrictions.

- Across all Indo-Pacific markets, the least liberalized (as defined by access to cross-border supply, consumption abroad, local commercial presence, and movement of Individual service providers) AI-related services sectors include legal services, broader professional services, and financial services.

🔗 Explore the full report to understand what digital trade rules are defining the Indo-Pacific: https://www.asiapacific.ca/publication/digital-trade-rules-ai-era-indo-pacific

🗞️ This report is part of a series on "Canada’s Trade in AI with the Indo-Pacific." Read the first instalment here:
https://www.asiapacific.ca/publication/canadas-trade-in-ai-what-it-is-and-how-much-with-indo-pacific

09/03/2026

How is ASEAN reshaping digital architecture?

is set to sign the world’s first region-wide digital economy agreement, the Digital Economy Framework Agreement ( ), at its upcoming November Summit. The agreement will reportedly enable the growth of a C$2.8-trillion digital economy in the region by 2030 and establish a long-term governance architecture for expanding digital trade.

But how will this agreement operate with existing frameworks for digital trade?

How is this shaping the digital-economy architecture of Southeast Asia?

And how can Canada keep up with the evolving digital economy?

Learn more about DEFA and ASEAN's digital trade in our latest from former Senior Research Scholar Serena To: https://www.asiapacific.ca/publication/explainer-what-aseans-new-digital-architecture-means-canada

ASEAN is expected to sign the Digital Economy Framework Agreement, the world’s first region-wide digital economy agreement, at its next summit in Nov 2026.

09/03/2026

This week, looks at Canada–India investment relations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization leaders’ summit.

Cette semaine, l' se penche sur les relations d’investissement Canada-Inde et sur le sommet des dirigeants de l’Organisation de coopération de Shanghai.

🔗https://www.asiapacific.ca/asia-watch

09/03/2026

APF Canada was deeply saddened to learn of the recent passing of the Foundation’s Founding Chairman, John Bruk, who served in the role from 1984–87.

Mr. Bruk was a lawyer, accomplished businessman, and co-founder of the China Canada Investment and Development Company in Taipei, Taiwan. He received an honorary doctorate from Royal Roads University and was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal in recognition of his contributions to Canada in 2002.

He kept up an interest in APF Canada throughout his life, and in recent years continued to participate occasionally in events at our Vancouver headquarters. His thoughtful and well-informed contributions will be missed.

We extend our condolences to his friends and family. Learn more about Mr. Bruk's remarkable life here: https://vancouversunandprovince.remembering.ca/obituary/john-bruk-1093995210

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C’est avec beaucoup de tristesse que la FAP Canada a appris le récent décès de M. John Bruk, président fondateur de la Fondation, dont il a assuré la présidence de 1984 à 1987.

M. Bruk était avocat, chef de file reconnu dans le monde des affaires et cofondateur de la China Canada Investment and Development Company, à Taipei,Taïwan. Il a reçu un doctorat honorifique de la Royal Roads University et s’est vu décerner la Médaille du jubilé d’or de la reine Elizabeth II en 2002, en reconnaissance de ses contributions au Canada.

Il a conservé un intérêt pour la FAP Canada tout au long de sa vie et a continué, ces dernières années, à participer occasionnellement à des événements tenus à notre siège social à Vancouver. Ses contributions judicieuses et éclairées nous manqueront.

Nous adressons nos sincères condoléances à sa famille, à ses amis et à ses proches. Apprenez-en davantage sur la vie remarquable de M. Bruk en consultant lien: https://vancouversunandprovince.remembering.ca/obituary/john-bruk-1093995210

📸 : Vancouver Sun Obituaries

09/02/2026

Canada has an opportunity to help Japan diversify its critical minerals supply chains from China ⛏️

Despite the market domination China holds, Canada has an emerging capacity to meet Japanese demand and opportunities for further investment in rare-earth elements (REEs).

But expanding Canada's capacity will require substantial financing and offtake agreements to reduce investment risks. Japan can provide that demand certainty and patient capital to support Canadian mining projects.

Ottawa-Tokyo partnerships can go beyond just resource extraction to establish non-Chinese processing capacity capable of delivering end-to-end products.

APF Canada's Anastasia Ufimtseva and Sun Ryung Park explore the future of Canada-Japan REE co-operation as part of APF Canada's Canada-Indo-Pacific Critical Minerals Hub series with Policy Magazine.

🔗 Read the full publication here: https://www.asiapacific.ca/publication/building-resilience-canada-japan-rare-earths-supply-chain

09/02/2026

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09/02/2026

Build strong investment partnerships and forge the future of Asia-Canada co-operation.

Join us for the fifth annual Canada-In-Asia Conference 2027 in Singapore, March 3-4, 2027, with a full week of activities starting March 1. Register today!
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09/01/2026

| Rules-based trade is under global pressure.

At the opening of the Canada-Vietnam Forum on Economic Resilience and CPTPP-EU Linkages in in July, APF Canada's Asia Regional Director Barrett Bingley discussed the unprecedented challenges to rules-based trade.

He made the case that bringing the and together is “both strategically urgent and practically achievable" to support governable trading practices in the Indo-Pacific.

VnEconomy explores more about the Forum, what an integrated CPTPP-EU partnership could look like, and the impacts on Asia. Read on: https://en.vneconomy.vn/a-recommendation-for-cptpp-eu-linkages.htm

A recent forum in HCMC heard how links can be strengthened between CPTPP members and the EU for stronger rules-based cooperation.

09/01/2026

Has globalization gone wrong? Or were we just thinking about it in the wrong terms?

Dan Ciuriak, APF Canada Distinguished Fellow, makes the argument that globalization was never about trade, but rather the production of a "global factory" designed to exploit extreme specialization through value chains to access economies of scale otherwise unattainable. And this system, he notes, is alive and well.

So replacing globalization is not the challenge.

Optimizing it for the small open economies that truly depend on it, and developing complementary arrangements where it does not reach, is the new goal.

A structured CPTPP-EU partnership could help preserve rules-based trade at a time of upheaval for the international political and economic system.

Existing trading structures like the World Trade Organization and the New Zealand-Singapore Agreement on Trade in Essential Supplies could provide models for advancing the CPTPP-EU partnership to address real-world trading imbalances and trade governance frameworks. The partnership could pioneer a new approach to the digital economy.

"Ultimately, the EU-CPTPP "bridge" can promote the development of a market with the scale to compete with China and the U.S. while retaining the perspectives and values of small open economies."

🔗 Explore the full report on our website: https://www.asiapacific.ca/publication/bridges-and-gaps-operationalizing-eu-cptpp-cooperation

08/31/2026

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