26.10.2026 Report on CanCham’s Canadian Thanksgiving Dinner 2026（https://cancham.lv/news/26102026-report-on-canchams-canadian-thanksgiving-dinner-2026）
26.10.2026
See album here（https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=canchamlatvia&set=a.1413134854317550）
The tradition continues! CanCham members, representatives of the Canadian Embassy, and friends of Canada gathered on Monday, October 12th, 2026 at the Radisson Blu Elizabete Hotel, Elizabetes iela 73, for CanCham’s annual Canadian Thanksgiving Dinner. The evening provided an opportunity to celebrate a much-loved Canadian tradition while renewing friendships and strengthening connections between the Canadian and Latvian communities.
The evening began with a welcome drink and an opportunity for informal networking. CanCham Chairman Ed Kalvins welcomed the guests, and the special guest speaker was H.E. Timothy Edwards, Canada’s Ambassador to Latvia. The dinner featured a traditional three-course Thanksgiving menu, including roast turkey with stuffing, potatoes, vegetables and cranberry sauce—a familiar taste of Canada in Riga.
In his address, Ambassador Edwards expressed his appreciation for CanCham’s expanding activities and Strategic Partnership Initiative, which he described as complementing the work of Canada’s Trade Commissioner Service and the Embassy. He emphasized his commitment to working closely with the Chamber during his posting in Latvia and recognized the important role that businesses and professional associations play in building international partnerships.
The Ambassador outlined two principal priorities: supporting Canada’s defence and security commitment to Latvia, including Operation REASSURANCE, and translating that strong security relationship into deeper commercial cooperation. He identified defence-industrial cooperation, clean technologies and energy, information and communications technologies—including artificial intelligence—and academic and research partnerships as particularly promising areas.
He also highlighted Canada’s wider objective of diversifying its international trade, including the ambition to double non-U.S. exports by 2035. Among the initiatives discussed were Canada’s new Strategic Exports Office, Canadian participation in the European Union’s SAFE defence-financing initiative, and plans for a Defence, Security and Resilience Bank, with a regional office envisaged in Riga. He noted the opportunities for closer Canada–EU cooperation and recalled Latvia’s distinction as the first EU member state to ratify CETA.
Closing on a personal note, Ambassador Edwards spoke about the meaning of Thanksgiving to his family: an occasion to reflect on life’s experiences and express gratitude for the people who enrich our lives. He thanked CanCham members for their partnership and expressed the hope that the economic and commercial relationship between Canada and Latvia would grow to match the strength of their political, security and personal ties.
CanCham’s Thanksgiving Dinner is about more than a traditional meal. It brings Canadians and Latvians together in an informal setting, helps build personal relationships and supports the Chamber’s objective of strengthening the bonds between our two countries. We thank Ambassador Edwards for his thoughtful and encouraging address, our members and guests for joining us, and the Radisson Blu Elizabete Hotel team for hosting the occasion.
For upcoming CanCham activities, including the TFL Procurement Seminar & Luncheon on November 2nd, 2026, please visit https://cancham.lv/ .
Ambassador Timothy Edwards — Address as Delivered to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce Thanksgiving Dinner | October 12, 2026 | Radisson Blu Elizabete Hotel, Riga
Thank you for the warm welcome to Riga.
I have already had the pleasure of meeting your President, Ed Kalviņš, and Vice-President, Una Brūna, and have been briefed on the Chamber's growing ambitions and expanding activities, including your Strategic Partnership Initiative. I was particularly pleased to learn about this work, which complements so effectively the efforts of Canada's Trade Commissioner Service and our Embassy team here in Latvia.
The Canadian Chamber has been an invaluable ally and force multiplier in each of my previous postings abroad. I have been looking forward to this event since my arrival and am eager to build on that tradition of partnership over the next four years. The success of Canada's economic engagement abroad depends not only on governments, but on business leaders, entrepreneurs, innovators, and professional associations such as yours that help connect people, ideas, and opportunities across borders.
It is customary at public events in Canada to begin with a land acknowledgement recognizing the historical stewardship of Indigenous peoples in the city or province where we gather. Here in the eastern Baltics, the history of human settlement is, of course, very different from that of Canada. And so, while honouring the enduring contributions of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples to the Canada we know today, I would also like to acknowledge and celebrate the deep roots of the Latvian people and their longstanding relationship with, and attachment to, the land on which we assemble this evening.
Before getting down to business, I thought I would briefly introduce myself, as this is the first time I am meeting many of you.
I am a career diplomat with Global Affairs Canada and have spent the better part of the past twenty-three years working on international security issues, particularly the non-proliferation and disarmament of weapons of mass destruction. Geographically, I have focused on the regions of East and Southeast Asia. While Ottawa is my hometown, I grew up in a Foreign Service family myself and spent portions of my youth in Geneva, Seoul, and Tokyo. Latvia is my fourth diplomatic posting abroad, following assignments in Hong Kong, The Hague, and most recently Vientiane, where I served as Head of Office for Laos.
You may reasonably wonder how someone with that background ended up here in Latvia.
The answer is straightforward. As a lifelong security specialist, I wanted to serve on the front line of what I believe is the defining security challenge of our generation: the effort of an aggressive and authoritarian Russia to challenge the foundations of European security and to rewrite, through force, both history and borders.
This region is therefore of profound strategic consequence to Canada. One need only look at Op REASSURANCE, Canada's largest military deployment abroad, to understand the importance Ottawa places on the security of Latvia and NATO's Eastern Flank. At this stage of my career, I can think of nowhere I would rather serve.
Which naturally raises the question: now that I’m here, what priorities have I been sent by Ottawa to advance?
The first thing to say is that those priorities remain fundamentally unchanged from those of my predecessor, Brian Szwarc.
My principal objective is to advance Canada's defence and security interests in Latvia, notably by supporting Op REASSURANCE and ensuring an open and productive relationship with our Latvian hosts.
Many of you will be aware that, at the NATO Summit in Ankara this past July, Prime Minister Carney reaffirmed Canada's long-term commitment to Latvia and the Alliance's collective defence. Among the key announcements were:
The extension of Op REASSURANCE until 2031, underscoring Canada's enduring commitment to Latvia and NATO's eastern flank;
Authorization to increase persistently deployed Canadian Armed Forces personnel to as many as 2,600, further strengthening Canada's contribution to Allied deterrence and defence; and
An expanded leadership role within NATO's regional command structure. Canada has joined Latvia and Denmark as the third Framework Nation of Multinational Division North, assuming additional responsibilities for regional defence while continuing its leadership of NATO's Multinational Brigade Latvia.
My second major objective in Latvia follows directly from the first.
Canada's substantial defence commitment in this region creates opportunities to strengthen our relationship in trade, investment, innovation, and research collaboration. One of my top priorities is therefore to help translate Canada's robust political and security presence into deeper economic and commercial partnerships.
As you may be aware from our embassy’s Senior Trade Commissioner Nicolas Lepage, our immediate focus includes (1) the defence sector and defence-industrial cooperation; (2) clean technologies and the energy transition; (3) information and communications technologies, including artificial intelligence; and finally (4) academic and research partnerships. These are sectors where Canada and Latvia possess complementary strengths and shared strategic interests.
These objectives align directly with a central priority of the Government of Canada: diversifying our trade and economic partnerships.