Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada Welcomes Victor Thomas as Vice-President, Prairie Region

VANCOUVER, BC – June 1, 2017 – The Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada (APF Canada) is pleased to announce that corporate governance and international strategy advisor Victor Thomas is joining APF Canada as Vice-President, Prairie Region, effective immediately.

Mr. Thomas will work with APF Canada’s senior staff in Vancouver and Toronto to enhance APF Canada’s presence and engagement in the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, where a renewed focus on two-way Asia Pacific trade and investment has been identified as critical to the region’s future economic prosperity.

For the past 15 years Mr. Thomas has held various leadership roles. In 2011, he was Chair of the Regina & District Chamber of Commerce and was the youngest ever to serve in the position in the Chamber’s 130-plus year history. From 2008-2016 he served on the Board of Directors of SaskEnergy, Saskatchewan’s natural gas distribution utility, and was its Vice-Chair from 2012-2016. Mr. Thomas also works part time as Strategic Advisor to the President at the University of Regina.

Based in Regina, he also serves on the Government of Saskatchewan’s Post-Secondary International Education Council. Nationally, he is a member of CARE Canada's Board of Directors, and chairs its International Operations and Programs Committee. He is President of the Banff Forum and is a member of the Rideau Hall Foundation Board of Directors.

APF Canada President and CEO Stewart Beck welcomed Mr. Thomas to the Foundation. “I am very pleased to have Victor join our executive team,” said Mr. Beck. “With his experience as an international consultant focused on Asia and Australia, along with his deep network of relationships in the public policy space domestically, Victor is uniquely positioned to help catalyze Canada-Asia engagement in our vibrant prairie provinces.”

Added Thomas:  "I am excited to join such a great team at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. The Prairie Region is incredibly rich in talent and natural resources and I am convinced its activity and reach can significantly be enhanced with Asia.”

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About the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada:

The Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada is dedicated to strengthening ties between Canada and Asia with a focus on expanding economic relations through trade, investment and innovation; promoting Canada’s expertise in offering solutions to Asia’s climate change, energy, food security and natural resource management challenges; building Asia skills and competencies among Canadians, including young Canadians; and, improving Canadians’ general understanding of Asia and its growing global influence.

The Foundation is well known for its annual national opinion polls of Canadian attitudes regarding relations with Asia, including Asian foreign investment in Canada and Canada’s trade with Asia. The Foundation places an emphasis on China, India, Japan and South Korea while also developing expertise in emerging markets in the region, particularly economies within ASEAN.

Visit APF Canada at www.asiapacific.ca