Projects » CIC

The Natural Resources and Foreign Policy Project

This year the CIC is tackling one of the most important questions facing Canadians: How can we be smart about developing our abundant energy, mineral and forest resources? The voracious appetite of emerging economies for natural resources presents Canada with some key foreign policy challenges in the coming years.

Global Positioning Strategy

The CIC’s Global Positioning Strategy (GPS) for Canada project, which culminated in the release of Open Canada: A Global Positioning Strategy for a Networked Age in June 2010, was the centrepiece of the CIC’s 2009-2010 research program.

The International Intellectual Property Project

The centrepiece of the CIC’s 2010-2011 research program is the International Intellectual Property (IP) project, which addresses Canada’s position in the international intellectual property regime, and its relevance to Canadian competitiveness and innovation.

Strategic Studies Working Group

The Strategic Studies Working Group produces and promotes research, conferences, seminars and publications addressing defence and security issues within the context of Canada’s international relations and foreign and defence policies. It endeavours to inform the Canadian public and relevant policy makers and stakeholders of Canada’s vital interests and values and the threats or potential threats to them.

Arctic Sovereignty and Security

The Arctic is a region currently undergoing massive transformation with immense security and environmental implications for each circumpolar state. Arctic sovereignty and security are about understanding how each of the circumpolar states and, Canada in particular, protects and promotes its Arctic region. The CIC Arctic Sovereignty and Security Working Group involved the work of three CIC research fellows, each of whom published a research paper as part of the Foreign Policy for Canada’s Tomorrow series.

Border Issues

The CIC Border Issues Working Group explored the Canada-US border from security, economic and political perspectives by looking at how the United States and Canada can protect each other through increased border efficiency and security, while maintaining their competitive edge and quality of life in an era of emerging economies and alarming global forces.

Canada and the Americas

The CIC’s Canada and the Americas project examined a range of the strategic, economic, political and social policy challenges which Canada currently faces and will likely need to confront in the future in its relations with Caribbean and Latin American countries.

Canada-India Relations

The CIC’s Canada-India Relations project explored why the potential for Canadian business in India has never been fully realized, either in terms of trade or foreign direct investment, and made recommendations on what needs to be done by both business and government.

China

The CIC China Working Group examined Canada-China relations and prepared recommendations for the bilateral relationship in the context of three thematic areas: domestic contexts for engagement, economic relations between Canada and China, and collaboration between the two countries on global issues.

Energy

The CIC Energy Working Group highlighted the nexus of Canadian energy and domestic policy with foreign policy issues and priorities, with a focus on two particular issue areas, climate change and electricity policy, projects that aimed to inform and provoke the Canadian policy debate – federally and provincially – by examining the linkages between climate change policy, electricity policy and foreign policy.