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The mission of the CIC is to promote an understanding of international affairs and Canada’s role in a changing world by providing Canadians with a non-partisan, nationwide forum for informed discussion, analysis and debate. Accordingly, the cornerstone of the CIC’s work is our events program. The CIC national office and our branches hold more than 150 events per year in cities across the country. In particular, our branch events give members an opportunity to directly engage with global issues that often intersect with local concerns. The CIC also supports events outside of Canada, often in partnership with other global think tanks, that can introduce Canadian perspectives to global audiences. CIC events take on many different forms, from academic lectures and panel discussions to town hall meetings and pub nights. Please consult our events calendar for a listing of CIC-organized and sponsored events.

If you have an idea for a CIC event, please contact us at info@thecic.org.

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CIC Victoria: Canada, NATO, 2 percent to 5 percent and more!

October 8, 2025 @ 5:30 pm - 9:00 pm PDT

Over the course of two days, CIC Victoria will play host to Robert Baines, the President and CEO of the NATO Association of Canada.

Registration information for all events below will be sent in September to our members.  All events are for CIC Victoria members only (other branch members should contact us directly if they are interested in participating in event #3 at cic.victoria.sec@gmail.com).

Event # 1 – Wednesday, 8 October from 5:30-9 pm: A special event with Robert for our Century Circle members.

Event #2 – Thursday, 9 October from 11:30 am – 1:30 pm: A lunch event at the Bay Street Armoury in conjunction with the Royal United Services Institute Vancouver Island.

Event #3 – Thursday, 9 October from 5- 7 pm: A Politics-in-the-Pub event at the Sticky Wicket pub (Wicket Hall).

For all three events, the focus will be on the Canada-NATO relationship, especially in-light of Canada’s commitment to significantly increase its defence spending.

Our speaker:

Robert Baines is the President and CEO of the NATO Association of Canada, where he is focused on communicating the importance of NATO and the international-rules based order to Canadians. The Association is a charitable non-profit which hosts events across Canada, publishes hundreds of articles online every year and engages young Canadians about NATO through social media. Robert is a regular commentator on NATO issues in the Canadian media and has represented the NATO Association at the side conferences of the 2016 NATO Warsaw Summit, the 2018 Brussels Summit and the 2019 NATO Leaders’ Meeting in London.

In 2017 he became a director of the Canada-Turkey Business Council. Formerly he was Executive Director of the Canada-Albania Business Council and Corporate Development Officer of the NATO Association. Robert is Past President of the St. George’s Society of Toronto (Toronto’s oldest charity) and is Past Co-Chair of the Young Professional Board of the Canadian Opera Company.

He received a Bachelor of Arts in Politics, Philosophy, and History from Trinity College at the University of Toronto and a Master of Arts in History from York University. Robert also serves in the Royal Canadian Navy Reserve at Toronto and has received the Canadian Forces Decoration.

Image: Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken via Wikimedia Commons

Details

  • Date: October 8, 2025
  • Time:
    5:30 pm - 9:00 pm PDT

Venue

  • The Union Club of BC
  • 805 Gordon Street
    Victoria, BC V8W 1Z6 Canada     + Google Map

Organizer

  • CIC Victoria