Canada and Vietnam have concluded negotiations to expand their bilateral Air Transport Agreement, clearing the way for direct passenger and cargo flights between the two countries for the first time. The breakthrough moves a non-stop link between Canada and Vietnam from long-standing aspiration toward commercial possibility.

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the expanded agreement as part of a new Canada-Vietnam Strategic Partnership, unveiled during the state visit of Vietnamese General Secretary and President To Lam to Ottawa on September 24, 2026. The visit marked the first by a General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam to Canada since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1973.

Under the revised terms, airlines from each country may operate up to 14 weekly passenger flights and seven weekly dedicated cargo flights. The expansion liberalizes the flight route annex of the existing Air Transport Agreement, giving carriers the regulatory framework needed to launch scheduled services in both directions.

A non-stop Vancouver-Ho Chi Minh City route stands out as a likely candidate for 2027, reflecting Vancouver's role as Canada's primary Pacific gateway and Ho Chi Minh City's position as Vietnam's largest commercial hub. No airline has yet confirmed such a service, and the timing and viability of any route will depend on carrier decisions, aircraft availability, and demand.

Canada describes Vietnam as its largest merchandise trading partner within ASEAN, with bilateral trade roughly doubling over the past five years. That growth has been reinforced by the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), to which both countries belong, and by Vietnam's expanding role in global supply chains.

The air transport expansion is expected to support this momentum on two fronts. Direct passenger flights would strengthen tourism, business travel, and people-to-people ties, including links to Canada's sizeable Vietnamese-Canadian community. Dedicated cargo services would open a faster air freight channel for goods moving between the two markets.

The flight agreement sits within a wider Strategic Partnership built on eight pillars: bilateral, regional and multilateral cooperation; trade, investment, finance and economic cooperation; transportation, supply chain management and infrastructure; digital transformation, artificial intelligence and innovation; energy security, environment and sustainable growth; food security and agriculture; defence, security, maritime affairs, law enforcement and justice; and education, culture and people-to-people exchanges.

Alongside the air transport commitment, the two governments signed memoranda of understanding covering maritime transport cooperation, energy cooperation and clean energy transition, and environmental cooperation. The Foreign Ministers of both countries are now coordinating an Action Plan to implement the partnership's objectives.

The agreement represents a substantive step in Canada-Vietnam relations, establishing the legal basis for direct air links that did not previously exist. It advances Canada's broader Indo-Pacific diversification strategy and reflects the deepening economic ties between the two countries.

The practical outcome, however, will rest with the airlines. A signed government-to-government agreement grants traffic rights but does not itself launch flights; commercial results depend on carrier route planning, network economics, and implementation timelines. For now, the expanded Air Transport Agreement makes a direct Vancouver-Ho Chi Minh City connection possible rather than certain - a framework awaiting the market decisions that will determine when the first non-stop flight takes off.

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