Remarks by MOS Gan Siow Huang at the Canada-in-Asia Conference 2026

Distinguished Guests, 

Ladies and Gentlemen, 

Introduction 

1.                 Good afternoon, and bonjour. It is my pleasure to join you at this year’s Canada-in-Asia Conference, an event that Singapore has had the distinct honour of hosting for four consecutive years. 

2.                 This year's conference comes at a pivotal moment in our global discourse. 

The challenges we face today – from supply chain vulnerabilities to climate-induced disruptions – demand our collective action. 

3.                 Singapore recognises the critical importance of strengthening our partnerships with nations that share our values and vision. 

Priority areas of Singapore-Canada cooperation 

4.                 Let me highlight a couple areas of mutual interest where Singapore and Canada can deepen our cooperation. 

a.          First, on energy. As a land and resource-scarce country, Singapore faces significant constraints in meeting our energy needs. As such, we are currently exploring several options that we could embark on to help us achieve energy security and energy resilience. 

                                    i.           One such option is nuclear energy. Singapore is building capabilities to study its potential deployment. We want to work with international partners such as Canada, who has deep expertise in nuclear energy, and who built the first Small Modular Reactor (SMR) in the G7. 

b.          Second, as leading centres of innovation in our region, both Singapore and Canada recognise the strategic role of collaboration in Science, Technology and Innovation to strengthen our economies and to achieve our food, energy, and infrastructure goals.

                                    i.           Enterprise Singapore’s Global Innovation Alliance and Canada’s National Research Council Industrial Research Assistance Program have launched a bilateral co-innovation programme in May 2025. Canadian and Singaporean companies showed interest to partner on research and development projects across digital & computational tech, life sciences and climate & sustainability domains. We look forward to announcing the successful projects in the coming months.  

                                   ii.           We also welcomed a Canadian delegation to the Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology (SWITCH) in October 2025, which comprised 16 Canadian companies and 4 Partner Organisations from the Medtech and Fintech sectors. Notably, the 2025 Canadian pavilion was double the size of the last one in 2023, reflecting growing interest from Canadian startups to explore opportunities not just in Singapore, but also in the region. 

Looking beyond bilateral cooperation 

5.                 In his op-ed in The Economist in November last year, Prime Minister Carney noted that we were entering an era of “variable geometry”, which would be characterised by “dynamic, overlapping, pragmatic coalitions”. Against the backdrop of growing protectionism globally, it becomes all the more imperative for countries such as Singapore and Canada to look beyond bilateral cooperation. We must explore innovative arrangements that can bring together coalitions of countries united by a shared belief in the principles of the open and rules-based trading system. 

6.                 Singapore and Canada remain steadfast in our shared commitment to multilateral platforms such as the WTO, and new plurilateral groupings such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). 

7.                 The CPTPP stands as a gold standard trade agreement, demonstrating how regional cooperation delivers tangible benefits for all members. 

a.             With substantially all of its trade made duty-free, and high-quality commitments on trade and investment facilitation, the CPTPP ranks amongst the world's most ambitious trade agreements. 

b.             The results speak for themselves. Since the CPTPP entered into force in 2018, trade amongst CPTPP members has grown at an average annual rate of 3.2 per cent, reaching US$618 billion in 2024.

Beyond deepening regional economic integration, the CPTPP serves as an anchor for trade rule certainty and a model for broader cooperation.

The ongoing negotiations for the ASEAN-Canada Free Trade Agreement also represent a historic milestone – this will be ASEAN's first FTA with a North American country. 

Leveraging Singapore’s key role in Asian supply chains

8.                 Beyond trade frameworks and multilateral platforms, growing the business connections between our two countries is equally as important. 

9.                 With our strategic position in the heart of Asia, Singapore remains a key node in regional supply chains. As more companies look to diversify their production base and supply chains, many firms recognise Singapore’s value as a gateway to the region. 

a.          Canadian companies such as Bombardier, Pratt & Whitney Canada, Visier, and Celestica have established meaningful presence in Singapore, contributing to our advanced manufacturing and digital economy. 

b.          For example, Bombardier’s Singapore Service Centre has supported the Asia-Pacific region for more than a decade and quadrupled its footprint following a major expansion in 2022. Today, it stands as the largest OEM‑owned business aviation maintenance facility in the region. 

10.             As Canada increases its engagement of the Indo-Pacific, we welcome more Canadian businesses to take advantage of Singapore’s locality and ever-increasing connectivity as a launchpad for the region. 

Pursuing business opportunities in Canada 

11.             Similarly, Singapore companies are actively pursuing growth opportunities in Canada. EnterpriseSG has been supporting these efforts through market facilitation and partner engagements with Canadian counterparts. For example: 

a.          ST Engineering’s Mobility Rail business has been active in Canada for many years. It has implemented rail electronics in the Union Pearson Express and will be supplying its rail electronics solutions to the new Ontario Line in Toronto and Valley Line West in Edmonton. It is currently exploring opportunities for its mobility business in Alberta and British Columbia. 

b.          Agrocorp has established grain and pulse processing facilities across multiple Canadian provinces to support global food supply chains. They are currently developing a new and larger facility in the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone. 

c.          Neuron Mobility, which has scaled from a start up to an international micromobility player, has established a presence across 16 Canadian cities. Neuron Mobility has partnered with local authorities in Calgary since 2021 to deploy sustainable urban mobility solutions at the annual Calgary Stampede, which attracts over a million visitors to the city annually. 

Conclusion 

12.             To conclude, there are significant opportunities for further economic cooperation between Singapore, Asia, and Canada, partners who share many commonalities in values and vision. I encourage delegates present here to meet, network, and make connections. I hope that the discussions over the next two days will spark new connections and partnerships to further deepen this important relationship. Thank you.