Vietnam–Canada Strategic Partnership: General Secretary and President Tô Lâm’s state visit to Ottawa culminated in upgrading the 2017 Comprehensive Partnership to a Strategic Partnership, with talks with PM Mark Carney and meetings with Canada’s top parliamentary leaders, plus a broad roadmap spanning trade, transport and supply chains, digital and AI, energy and environment, food security, defence and maritime cooperation, and education and people-to-people ties. Party-to-Party Exchanges: Lâm also met Communist Party of Canada leader Drew Garvie, stressing CPV interest in deeper coordination and experience-sharing in party building and development. People-to-People Focus: Lâm urged the Vietnamese community in Canada to strengthen solidarity, preserve cultural values, and act as a bridge for closer bilateral ties, while calling for expanded exchanges in science, innovation, digital transformation, AI, clean energy, and climate response. UNGA 81 Diplomacy: Ahead of the Canada trip, Lâm’s UN speech emphasized restoring trust, respecting international law, and managing differences through dialogue—framed as consistent with Vietnam’s peace-and-cooperation line. Cultural Governance Push: In Hanoi, Party culture steering leadership called for tougher implementation of Resolution 80-NQ/TW to address bottlenecks and drive cultural development in late 2026. Human Rights Pressure in Canada: Human Rights Watch urged Canadian leaders to raise Vietnam’s rights record during the visit, citing crackdowns on speech and activism.