The Vietnamese president’s visit comes as Ottawa and Hanoi are both searching—from very different geopolitical positions—for greater resilience, diversified partnerships, and room to manoeuvre in a more contested world.

As Prime Minister Mark Carney has thawed Canada’s bilateral relationship with China within his wider policy of diplomatic and trade diversification in the face of an increasingly volatile United States, the question of Chinese electric vehicle investment in Canada has taken on new importance.

Mark Carney’s recent trip to Saudi Arabia has aroused a fresh debate about Canada’s foreign policy, and whether this prime minister is straying too far from its longstanding international relations norms.