VANCOUVER – The Pacific Rim hotel played host to more than 160 business and political leaders this week for the Australia Canada Economic Leadership Forum in Vancouver.
It was the 10th time the forum has organized a conference of this size, with the goal of fostering closer business ties between Canada and its Pacific Rim ally — a country Prime Minister Mark Carney has described as Canada’s strategic cousin.
The two countries share a common history and heritage, but in recent years they have also faced a common challenge: an upended world order following U.S. President Donald Trump’s return to the White House and his administration’s changes to American trade and foreign policies.
For Canada, which has long relied heavily on trade with the United States, the shift in American policy has prompted efforts to pursue new trade and security arrangements.
Evan Solomon, Canada’s minister of artificial intelligence and digital innovation, addressed the forum on its second day. He said Australia was a natural partner as Canada looks to diversify its economic relationships beyond the United States.
“We’re living in a moment where we have a geopolitical realignment at the same time as a technological revolution,” he said. “And Australia and Canada are building more resilience in a world where trusted partners need to work more closely together. Whether that is in the mining sector, whether it’s in AI and the tech sector.”
Solomon added: “We need to build more resilient partnerships with countries that we know, we trust, and Australia is one of those countries.”
Trust is a word frequently heard among Canadian and Australian business leaders. Carney also invoked the concept when he addressed Australia’s Parliament earlier in March.
“The world will always be driven by great powers,” Carney said at the time. “But it can also be shaped by middle powers that trust each other and act with speed and purpose. Canada and Australia have demonstrated that trust.”
That foundation has already led to significant investments between the two countries.
In 2025, Canada announced the purchase of a $2.5-billion over-the-horizon radar system from Australia, the largest defence export in Australian history.
Stephen Fuhr, Canada’s secretary of state for defence procurement, said the purchase was a natural choice for Canada. He also suggested Australia could one day purchase Canadian technology as it builds its own resilience in the Asia-Pacific region.
“We’re like-minded countries that share the same values,” Fuhr said. “But the situation we find ourselves in, merits and demands us to work together.”
He added: “There are other countries Canada is working with. Australia is one of them, but there’s just a natural fit there.”
Australian investors have also put money into Canadian energy and critical infrastructure, including a container terminal at the Port of Vancouver, through pension plans and private equity funds.
The Australia Canada Economic Leadership Forum says the two countries have cumulatively invested more than $240 billion in each other’s economies, and the organization expects that figure to grow.
During Carney’s visit to Canberra, Canada and Australia signed a historic memorandum of understanding — a first-of-its-kind investment pact involving Canada Pension Plan Investments and some of Australia’s largest pension funds.
Under the framework, two of the world’s largest pension systems would invest in major ventures, including infrastructure projects and real estate assets in both countries.
“We’ve got large investors with deep pools of capital that need to find safe, secure places where you’ve got good quality rule of law, good institutions, respected democratic systems, strong financial organizations,” said Bran Black, chief executive of the Business Council of Australia.
He added: “Both countries have those things, so that’s why there is a lot of interest in Canadian pension funds investing in Australia, and a lot of interest in Australian super-annuation funds investing in Canada.”
The challenge now is determining where that investment will flow and which projects will benefit.
But Mark Romoff, chair and chief executive of the Australia Canada Economic Leadership Forum, said he was confident the opportunities would materialize, pointing to the business community’s enthusiasm for pursuing new ventures together.
“It’s really now clear that there’s an opportunity to build our relationships around the world,” Romoff said. “We don’t want to miss that opportunity because it doesn’t come around very often. And now is the time. We’ve got to capitalize on it.”
