一國外交政策通常反映出該國所長期執著的國內哲學與意識型態的偏好，而同時卻仍須對現階段的目標、企圖與優先順位保持一定的敏感。主要是在國家利益的驅動下確保國家安全、促進經濟繁榮與社會正義。換言之，外交政策就是儘可能地在國外增加國家的影響力以及儘可能地擴大實體、經濟與社會的安全。 文主 旨即試圖找尋日益增加的加拿大在亞洲的利益在其更廣泛的變遷中的加拿大外交政策的模式與偏好所處的位置 。首先將檢視 加拿大外交政策 長期趨勢與偏好，作者認為 常在雙邊主義 / 區域主義與多邊主義間求取平衡的 加國 外交政策目前較偏好前者，即對多邊主義的廣泛承諾已由對北美與亞太地區的深入承諾所取代 。 本文同時指出受限北大西洋現實，加拿大外交政策的地理優先正越來越聚焦於北美與北太平洋 。最主要的原因是因為美國與中國注定將在加國的經濟未來扮演日益增加的關鍵角色。兩者都使加拿大必須持續在邊境與安全問題以及廣義的國際安全議程上扮演積極主動的角色。

A country's foreign policy typically reflects deeply held national preferences, both philosophical and ideological, while, at the same time, remaining sensitive to current goals, ambitions, and priorities. It is driven by an understanding of its national interest, and should, all other things being equal, help to ensure national security, encourage economic prosperity, and promote social justice. In other words, foreign policy is all about maximizing a country's influence abroad and about maximizing its physical, economic, and social security. It is shaped, inter alia , by the long-term habits of mind of its citizens, by previous policies and practices, by the personal preferences of leaders and the priorities of political parties, by institutional realities, and, to a very significant extent, by structural realities -- whether systemic, regional, or domestic. Canadian foreign policy has been shaped in important ways by all of the factors identified above. Canada continues to be deeply influenced by the United States , and, beginning in the early 1990s, by a growing commitment to North American. The trilateral agenda was most notably advanced when Mexico joined Canada and the United States as a full partner in continental free trade (via the North American Free Trade Agreement), and, more recently, through the creation of the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP). While there has been a relatively significant attenuation with respect to the broader commitment to multilateralism, Canada has not completely lost sight of certain issues that affect global order. While the preference for order, broadly defined, remains constant, the geographic focus has clearly shifted away from the postwar preoccupation with Europe . It has been replaced with the notion of a North America Community, and, to somewhat lesser extent with an increasing interest in Asia , both in terms of security concerns and with respect to economic issues. The main task of this paper is to situate Canada 's increasing interest in Asia in the broader context of the shifting patterns and preferences in Canadian foreign policy. The paper will examine long-term trends and preferences in Canadian foreign policy, arguing that the balance between bilateralism/regionalism, on the one hand, and multilateralism, on the other, is shifting in favour of the former. It will also argue that the geographic priorities of Canadian foreign policy, long defined by North Atlantic realities, are increasingly focused on North America and the North Pacific.