Canada hosts U.S., Chinese military leaders at Indo-Pacific defence forum

Source: Global News Politics
Date: 2026-08-31 20:29:31.0
Tags: [National, Trade, Defence, Governance]

Canada is hosting the 32-nation Indo-Pacific Chiefs of Defence conference in Victoria, British Columbia, co-chaired by Canadian Chief of Defence Staff General Jennie Carignan and U.S. Indo-Pacific Command leader Admiral Samuel Paparo, with attendees including military leaders from the United States and China. The gathering takes place amid significant trade and diplomatic strains following the collapse of trade negotiations between Prime Minister Mark Carney's administration and the Trump administration, which led Ottawa to implement 50 per cent retaliatory counter-tariffs matching American levies on $28 billion worth of U.S. goods. Polling exclusively for Global News indicates strong public backing for Prime Minister Mark Carney's trade stance, with 63 per cent of Canadians supporting the decision to walk away from talks and 73 per cent supporting the dollar-for-dollar counter-tariffs.