Vietnam’s leader To Lam visits Ottawa as Carney reaches out to middle powers

OTTAWA — Vietnam’s most powerful politician is in Ottawa for a state visit Thursday aimed at deepening trade and diplomatic ties as middle powers confront American and Chinese coercion.

Vietnamese President To Lam serves as Communist party general secretary, making him more powerful than his country’s prime minister. Lam has events scheduled for Thursday with Gov. Gen. Louise Arbour, Prime Minister Mark Carney and parliamentarians.

“We have had visits by the prime minister but never by the leader of Vietnam,” said Vina Nadjibulla, co-founder of the Centre for Strategic Statecraft, a geopolitics think tank.

Nadjibulla said while Vietnam is a communist country, it’s also trade-dependent — like Canada — and seeks to preserve the rules-based international order and economic diversification.

“Even though its leadership is very different from Canada, its orientation right now is very much similar to what Canada is trying to do, which is build resilience, diversify partnerships and practise as much autonomy and agency (so as) not to be coerced by any one power,” she said.

Since 2017, the two countries have had an agreement outlining co-operation in diplomacy, investment, economic development, defence and academia.

Nadjibulla said both countries are trying to “elevate” this agreement to a strategic partnership, which would signify deeper, aligned co-operation on longer-term goals. That could mean more joint work in sensitive sectors like maritime security and supply chains, or more Canadian energy exports.

Vietnam is also a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a bloc with which Canada is negotiating a free-trade agreement. Carney is hoping to sign that trade agreement on a planned November visit to the Philippines, which might include a stop in Vietnam.

Vietnam is among the priority nations identified in the Indo-Pacific strategy that Ottawa released in late 2022. Since then, Canada has expanded aid projects in Vietnam aimed at economic empowerment and military diplomacy that prioritizes women’s roles.

Global Affairs Canada’s online profile of Vietnam calls it Canada’s largest trading partner in Southeast Asia, with two-way merchandise trade amounting to more than $20 billion last year. Canada exports food, metals and fertilizers, while Vietnam exports electronics, clothing, furniture and shoes.

“Vietnam is an economic partner that plays an important role in advancing Canada’s trade diversification efforts in the region,” the department says.

Nadjibulla said Vietnam has a huge trade surplus with multiple countries, including Canada, in part because U.S. President Donald Trump used his first term to promote trade with Asian nations other than China. That led to a boom in Vietnamese electronics manufacturing.

“We import a lot from Vietnam and we sell very little, relatively speaking,” she said, arguing Canadian businesses have not seized opportunities in this country of 100 million people.

Vietnam is now facing hefty American tariffs and working on a bilateral agreement with Washington while trying to diversify its trade beyond the U.S.

“This is where Canada and Vietnam are aligned. We’re both trying to diversify our supply chains (and) reduce overreliance on the U.S.,” she said.

Vietnam is also at the forefront of American efforts to weed out forced labour from supply chains, especially supply chains that could be linked to Uyghur slave labour in China’s Xinjiang region.

Canada’s former corporate ombudsperson has raised similar concerns about running shoes sold in Canada and produced in Vietnam which could be using cotton derived from slave labour.

Beijing calls the Trump administration’s claims about slave labour unfounded and says they’re aimed at undercutting China’s economic growth. Vietnam has said it takes Washington’s concerns seriously.

Vietnam holds this year’s rotating chairmanship of the Pacific Rim trade bloc known as CPTPP. The bloc brings together multiple countries, including Canada, Chile, Japan and Australia, which commit to rules-based commerce and basic workers’ rights.

The CPTPP bloc has taken on increasing importance as countries deal with acts of economic coercion — such as China limiting supply chains for critical minerals and Trump issuing tariffs on questionable grounds.

Lam has been supportive of Carney’s fledgling initiative to have the European Union work more with the CPTPP bloc so that middle powers can band together against coercive policies.

“It has made the relationship even more significant this year because of that international agenda,” Nadjibulla said.

“We’re in a moment where the relationship can go to a new level, and there’s definitely political desire on both sides.”

Nadjibulla said Canada has a productive relationship with Vietnam with few irritants. Canada has delivered aid to Vietnam and did not take part in the U.S. war in the 1970s. Canadians resettled more than 60,000 Indochinese refugees through measures like private sponsorships.

Julie Nguyen, co-founder of the Canada-Vietnam Trade Council, said that history gives Ottawa an opportunity.

“Vietnam has particular experience in navigating and hedging among competing powers, while pursuing national independence and economic development after decades of war,” she wrote in an analysis published Wednesday.

“Canada can learn from the Vietnamese experience of navigating the international system, especially during periods of profound change and uncertainty.”

Nadjibulla said the visit fits a recent pattern of foreign leaders reaching out to Canada in response to Carney’s efforts to broaden Canada’s trade and diplomatic ties.

There have been recent visits by leaders from the Philippines and Norway, and Carney has confirmed a December visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“The fact that leader-level diplomacy is happening is a testament to Canada’s growing role as a middle power on the world’s stage,” Nadjibulla said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 24, 2026.

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press