Welcome to the Official Website of the AusCan Forum!

About

The Australia-Canada Economic Leadership Forum (AusCan Forum) is a Canadian non-profit corporation headquartered in Toronto, Ontario and governed by a volunteer Board of Directors as well as an Advisory Committee. The AusCan Forum was formed in 2010, and since that time, has brought together 150+ leaders from government and public and private sectors for high-level discussions every 18 months. From trade and investment to climate change and energy, the Australia-Canada Economic Leadership Forum provides a space for both countries to discuss global challenges and opportunities.

Mission

The mission of the AusCan Forum is to strengthen the ties between Australia and Canada’s public and private sector leaders and advance their growing relationship.

Vision

Australia and Canada are charter members of the Commonwealth as well as the G20 and have a common heritage of language and democratic freedoms. Both countries regularly consult with one another to advance common interests ranging from defense and security to Indigenous, social, cultural, academic and regional issues. A strong, diversified commercial relationship between Australia and Canada is also present. In 2022, bilateral trade between Australia and Canada totaled $5.8B CAD1.

[1] https://www.international.gc.ca/country-pays/australia-australie/relations.aspx?lang=eng

Watch the CPAC Special recap of the 2023 Forum:

Australia-Canada Economic Forum 2023 | CPAC Special | CPAC.ca

CPAC’s Michael Serapio goes behind the scenes at the recent Australia-Canada Economic Forum and speaks with Australian Co-chair Julie Bishop, Canadian Co-chair John Baird, Canadian Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry François-Philippe Champagne, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, Australian Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, and Ontario Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade Vic Fedeli, as they discuss ways to increase trade and economic cooperation between the two countries. This 60-minute special presentation also features keynote speeches from Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. (July 18, 2023)

2023 Forum – Toronto, Canada

2020 Forum – Melbourne, Australia

What’s New

The AusCan Forum held its first in-person meeting in three years at the Four Seasons in Toronto, Canada from July 16-19, 2023. For videos, the Rapporteur’s Report, and more information, follow this link: 2023 Forum – Australia-Canada Economic Leadership Forum (auscanforum.com)

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162 delegates were in attendance for this year’s Forum in Toronto. Notable appearances were made by Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada; Hon. Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario; Olivia Chow, Mayor of Toronto; Hon. Scott Moe, Premier of Saskatchewan; Hon Mark Dreyfus KC MP, Attorney-General of Australia; Hon. Francois-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry of Canada; and on Kristy McBain, Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories. The Forum provided a wonderful opportunity for CEOs, academia, business association leaders, and former cabinet ministers to connect with one another.

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The 2023 AusCan Forum hosted its first-ever AusCan Awards – celebrating top innovators under 40 from both Australia and Canada. Nominees were judged based on five (5) criteria: innovation, leadership, financial performance, social responsibility, and industry impact. Our Australian winner was Mina Nada, Co-Founder & CEO of Zoomo, and our Canadian winner was Joelle Faulkner, Founder & CEO of Area One Farms.

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The Media coverage from the 2023 AusCan Forum achieved a reach of over 143,000,000 and included 4 stories filed by Australian news media outlets and 25 stories filed by Canadian news media outlets.

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Feedback from the Forum clearly expressed an interest in more engagement between Australia and Canada. New initiatives will be announced in the coming weeks. Stay tuned to this space and the AusCan social media accounts Linkedin and Twitter for more details.