Canada's Indo-Pacific policy aligns with Washington

Significance

The two prime ministers hosted a lunch for business leaders and Kishida’s visit will be followed in the spring by a high-level Japanese delegation that will discuss investment in Canada’s critical minerals and battery sectors. However, little progress was made on energy sales to Japan.

Impacts

• Creation of a Canadian Trade Gateway in South-east Asia should help Canadian companies make inroads across the wider region.
• Prioritising consular services reflects the expectation that immigration in coming years will largely be from the Indo-Pacific.
• Canada will struggle to meet the military commitments in the strategy due to prolonged neglect of its armed forces.