Canada In Asia Conference 2023

Canada-in-Asia
Conference 2023

February 21-23, 2023 | Singapore | #CIAC2023

With generous support from:

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The Conference

About

Bringing together Canada-connected individuals and organizations in Asia.

The Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada and Universities Canada are working together to deliver a world-class event in February 2023 – the Canada-in-Asia Conference – to catalyze a new and transformative phase of Canada-Asia engagement.

This conference of up to 500 participants will draw together Asia-based Canadian university alumni and major Canadian actors in Asia’s business and innovation landscape, with the potential to represent the most extensive people-to-people and institutional linkages across Canada and Asia to date.

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Speakers

Keynote speakers and panellists will be drawn from leading minds and power-players in Canada and Asia, including senior ministers, current and potential Nobel-laureate researchers, dynamic business leaders, and cultural figures.

The Honourable Mary Ng

Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development, Government of Canada

Dr. Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman

Minister, Prime Minister’s Office, Second Minister, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Singapore

Minister Martine Biron

Minister of International Relations and La Francophonie, Minister Responsible for the Status of Women, Government of Quebec

Maninder Sidhu

Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Government of Canada

Laurel Broten

CEO, Invest in Canada

Kevin Strain

President and CEO, Sun Life

Mairead Lavery

President and CEO, Export Development Canada

Wayne Bossert

Deputy Chairman and Head, Ultra-High-Net-Worth Clients, RBC Wealth Management

Keynote Speakers

Donna Strickland

Lily Kong

Parag Khanna

President and Lee Kong Chian Chair Professor of Social Sciences, Singapore Management University

Nobel Laureate, Physics 2018 & Professor, University of Waterloo

Global Strategy Advisor & Bestselling Author

Professor Kong is SMU’s fifth President, and the first Singaporean to lead the 22-year-old university. She is also the first Singaporean woman to head a university in Singapore. She was previously Provost of SMU, Vice Provost, and Vice-President at the National University of Singapore (in various portfolios).

Dr. Donna Strickland is a recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics 2018 and a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Waterloo. Donna was a research associate at the National Research Council Canada, a physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and a member of the technical staff at Princeton University.

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Parag Khanna is a leading global strategy advisor, world traveller, and bestselling author. He is Founder & CEO of Climate Alpha, an AI-powered analytics platform to forecast asset values and future-proof global real estate, and Founder & Managing Partner of FutureMap, a data and scenario-based strategic advisory firm.

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CIAC 2023 Opening Plenary Keynote Speaker

Fairmont Singapore Raffles City Convention Centre

February 22 | 8:30 a.m. | Stamford Ballroom

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CIAC 2023 Lunch Plenary Keynote Speaker: Photonics as the Technology of the 21st Century

Fairmont Singapore Raffles City Convention Centre

February 22 | 12:30 p.m. | Stamford Ballroom

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CIAC 2023 Gala Dinner Keynote Speaker: Canada's Opportunity in the Asian Future

Fairmont Singapore Raffles City Convention Centre

February 22 | 7 p.m. | Stamford Ballroom

Moshe Safdie

Architect, Urban Planner, Educator, Theorist, & Author

Over a celebrated 50-year career, Moshe Safdie has explored the essential principles of socially responsible design through a comprehensive and humane design philosophy. Moshe’s projects can be found in North and South America, the Middle East, and Asia.

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CIAC 2023 Day 2 Plenary Keynote Speaker: Quest for Habitation

Fairmont Singapore Raffles City Convention Centre

February 23 | 9:45 a.m. | Stamford Ballroom

Babak Abbaszadeh

President and CEO, Toronto Centre

The Honourable Navdeep Bains

Vice-Chair, Global Investment Banking, CIBC Capital Markets

Dominic Barton

Chair of Rio Tinto and LeapFrog Investments

Angela Bedard-Haughn

Dean and Professor, College of Agriculture and Bioresources, University of Saskatchewan

Yoshua Bengio

Scientific Director, Mila & IVADO; Full Professor, Samsung AI; Professor, Université de Montréal; Canada CIFAR AI Chair

Caroline Berube

President, Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Singapore; Managing Partner, HJM Asia Law & Co LLC

Stanford Blade

Dean of the Faculty of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences, University of Alberta

Hubert Bolduc

President, Investissement Québec International

Fang Bourne

Managing Director, Chief Operating Officer of BMO Financial Group Asia

Charlene Brophy

President and CEO, FONEMED

The Honourable Jean Charest

Honorary Chairman, Canada-ASEAN Business Council, Partner, McCarthy Tétrault LLP, former Premier of Québec, Member of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada

William Chen

The Michael Fam Chair Professor in Food Science and Technology, Director, Singapore Agrifood Innovation Lab (SAIL), Nanyang Technological University

Elisa Chiu

Founder, Anchor Taiwan

Rick Christiaanse

CEO, Invest Alberta

Shirley Crystal Chua

Founder and Group CEO, Golden Equator (Singapore)

Martha Crago

Vice-Principal (Research and Innovation), McGill University, and Chair, Governing Council, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)

Yose Rizal Damuri

Executive Director, Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Jakarta

Jan De Silva

President and CEO, Toronto Region Board of Trade

Kathleen Donohue

Assistant Deputy Minister, Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada

Thomas Duchaine

Professor, Department of Biochemistry, McGill University

Greg Eidsness

Managing Director, Saskatchewan Singapore Office; Chair, Canada-ASEAN Business Council Agriculture and Agri-food Committee

Paul Evans

Professor, School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, HSBC Chair in Asian Research, University of British Columbia

Brett Fairbairn

President and Vice-Chancellor, Thompson Rivers University

Bill Flanagan

President and Vice-Chancellor, University of Alberta

Wan Chee Foong

Regional CEO and Head Group Business Development, PSA International

Paul Davidson

President, Universities Canada

Jeff Nankivell

President and CEO, Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada

Agenda

Schedule

and Agenda

February 21

VIP engagement meetings, welcome cocktail reception, and VIP dinners.

The conference will offer numerous opportunities for Canadian alumni in Asia and other Canada-affiliated individuals to connect and collaborate, while raising awareness in Asia of Canadian capabilities and contributions in the region.

February 22

High-level speakers, lunch event, concurrent sessions focused on key themes, networking opportunities, a Canada-Asia marketplace, and an evening gala.

Full Agenda

February 23

Plenary and breakout sessions, networking opportunities, and special alumni events and activities organized by participating universities.

Suggested Dress Code for all Sessions: Business Attire

Venue

Fairmont Singapore’s Raffles City Convention Centre

The conference will take place at the prestigious Fairmont Singapore’s Raffles City Convention Centre, conveniently located in the heart of Singapore’s business district.

Fairmont Singapore Hotel, 80 Bras Basah Rd, Singapore 189560

Carbon Offsets

APF Canada and Universities Canada recognize the domestic and international benefits of carbon offsets as a tool to help mitigate the impacts of climate change. We are committed to reducing our carbon footprint wherever possible, including through the purchase of carbon offsets for airline travel. To learn more about acquiring carbon offsets when booking air travel, please see this example from Air Canada’s Chooose program.

Partners

Partner Organizations

Thank you to our partners for their support in helping to make this event happen.

Presenting Partner