Canada-in-Asia
Conference 2026

Where Canada and Asia Meet: Ideas, Investment, Impact

Feburary 10-11, 2026 | Raffles City Convention Centre, Singapore | #CIAC2026

Reminder to book your hotel for CIAC2026! Bookings for room blocks at The Swissotel The Stamford and Grand Park City Hall will close on January 17, 2026 (SGT). Details for that process are provided upon CIAC registration.

The Canada-in-Asia Conference 2026 (CIAC2026) is the premier platform for connecting leaders from across Canada and Asia to tackle some of the most pressing challenges – and promising opportunities – of our time.

Taking place at the intersection of business, government, research, and innovation, this unique gathering brings together stakeholders to drive collaboration, unlock partnerships, and shape the future of Canada-Asia engagement to address real-world issues.

ABOUT THE
CANADA-IN-ASIA
CONFERENCE 2026

Gala Dinner Keynote Speaker

Jonathan Cheng

China Bureau Chief, The Wall Street Journal

Jonathan Cheng is the China Bureau Chief for The Wall Street Journal, overseeing the Journal's coverage of the world's second-largest economy across a range of areas, including politics, economics, business, technology, and society. Mr. Cheng oversees a team of more than two dozen correspondents and researchers in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taipei, Singapore, and New York with responsibility for the Chinese mainland and Taiwan.

Previously, Mr. Cheng was the Seoul bureau chief for the Journal, running coverage of the Korean Peninsula, including North Korea and South Korean politics and business. He began his career as an intern in the Journal's Hong Kong bureau, and has also worked as a markets reporter in the Journal's New York office.

Mr. Cheng speaks English, Cantonese and Mandarin Chinese, French, and Korean. A native of Toronto, Canada, Mr. Cheng graduated from Princeton University with a degree in history.

His first book, Korean Messiah: Kim Il Sung and the Christian Roots of North Korea's Personality Cult, will be published by Alfred A. Knopf in April 2026.

Explore the CIAC2026 Speakers

CIAC2026 is organized around three pillars:

Food Security

Energy Security

Infrastructure

These sectors are fundamental for sustainable growth in both Asia and Canada, and ones in which Canadian companies, institutions, and universities bring experience, expertise, and openness to partnerships that bridge continents and disciplines. Within these sectors, CIAC2026 will address issues within the cross-cutting themes of geopolitics, investment, and technology.

Why Food Security, Energy Security, and Infrastructure?

Building on insights from previous Canada-in-Asia Conferences, food security, energy security, and infrastructure have emerged as critical areas where Canada and Asia share urgent challenges, expertise, and unique opportunities for collaboration.

Canada has much to offer in sustainable resource management, clean energy innovation, agri-tech, and infrastructure planning. Asian economies bring expertise, scale, market dynamism, and technological agility. Together, our regions can co-create solutions that address local needs while contributing to global goals.

With dialogues under each sector related to investment, technology, and geopolitics, conversations will focus on how Canada-based and Asia-based companies, institutions, and researchers can build resilient systems, co-operate on innovation, and catalyze and deepen cross-sector partnerships.

Explore the CIAC2026 Agenda

Join Us

Join us at CIAC2026 be part of shaping what’s next for Canada-Asia collaboration.

What’s New for 2026?

The Canada-in-Asia Conference continues to evolve to meet the needs of its dynamic audience and a fast-changing global landscape. CIAC2026 introduces exciting new features designed to deepen engagement and drive collaboration:

Sector Roundtables for Deeper Dialogue

For 2026, we’re replacing concurrent panel sessions with curated roundtable discussions that will offer a more interactive format, bringing together thought leaders, practitioners, and decision-makers for solutions-oriented dialogue.

Sector-Specific

Networking

CIAC2026 incorporates additional opportunities for networking across the whole event, including dedicated sector-specific sessions to enable deeper learning and strategic connections.

Strategic B2B Engagement by Delegations

We are working closely with Canadian and Asian governments, trade promotion agencies, and industry associations to bring delegations of businesses from both regions to the conference. To support business-to-business meetings, CIAC2026 features a dedicated B2B space on-site.

Whether you’re seeking new partners, customers, suppliers, or investment leads, this new platform is designed to help turn conversations into concrete opportunities. Contact ciac@asiapacific.ca if you’re interested in bringing a delegation to CIAC2026.

CIAC2026 offers a space to explore big picture trends, forge connections, and co-create solutions with impact.

Whether you’re advancing policy, scaling a breakthrough, or bringing your products to new markets, the Canada-in-Asia Conference 2026 is where insight meets opportunity.

Explore Related Events

CIAC is more than just a convention - it’s a key platform driving collaboration, innovation, investment, and trade… Singapore, with its strategic position and robust connectivity, continues to be a gateway for companies looking to tap into the dynamic Indo-Pacific market. We look to continue empowering Canadian companies to scale and thrive in this diverse and growing market."

Xiang Liang Chna

Chief Representative for Singapore and Malaysia, Export Development Canada

The Conference is really exciting the power of bringing people together, both actors from the [Indo-Pacific] region with Canadians is great. I am learning a lot from the different market perspectives, the different country perspectives that the partners bring around the table is instructive, it's just an incredible networking opportunity."

Lori Kerr

CEO, FinDev Canada

ABOUT THE CANADA-IN-ASIA CONFERENCE SERIES

A multi-dimensional innovation platform for Canada-Asia collaboration

The Canada-in-Asia Conference (CIAC) series is built on a simple but powerful idea: the most transformative solutions emerge at the intersection of sectors, disciplines, and borders. CIAC is a multi-directional engagement platform for Canada-based and Asia-based business leaders, investors, policy-makers, researchers, and innovators from across Asia and Canada to exchange perspectives, knowledge, and ideas, with the goal of facilitating collaborative partnerships.

At the heart of the series is a focus on strengthening Canada-Asia partnerships. Canadians come to CIAC to deepen their understanding of Asia, and Asian participants attend to gain insight into Canada. As Asia continues to shape the future of global markets, technology, and geopolitics, for Canadians, the ability to engage effectively across the region is more important than ever. Not only that, we believe Canada has a lot to offer. At its core, CIAC is a platform to learn, deepen relationships, align strategies, and co-develop solutions to advance shared goals and shape the future of Canada-Asia engagement.

"At the heart of the series is a focus on strengthening Canada-Asia partnerships."

Now in its fourth year, CIAC has grown and evolved since its inception, while remaining committed to its core motivation: creating opportunities to form strategic relationships to drive meaningful collaboration between Canada and Asia.