When: Monday, 23 June 2025
Where: The Sticky Wicket Pub, Maple Room, the Strathcona Hotel, 919 Douglas Street
For: This is a CIC member only event
Time: 5 – 7:00 pm (doors open at 5 pm)
Our Speaker: Chris Kilford
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The geopolitical challenges today are seemingly endless. Indeed, from Washington, to Moscow, Beijing, Kyiv and beyond, countries are burning the midnight oil as they seek a way out of the turbulent times we live in. Over the past 12 months, our speaker travelled to Turkiye, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Bhutan, Poland and Latvia, on official and semi-official visits, where he had a chance to sit down with numerous officials including Canada’s Ambassador to Turkiye, Kevin Hamilton to Taiwan’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Remus Li-Kuo Chen. In March, Chris also spent two weeks in Poland and Latvia, meeting officials from both countries and visiting members of the Canadian Armed Forces who are training Ukrainian military personnel and leading NATO’s Multinational Brigade in Latvia. During his talk, Chris will speak about his various visits, what he learned while on the ground and what geopolitical minefields we should be on the lookout for moving forward.

Our speaker:

Chris is a member of the national board of the Canadian International Council, the editor (articles) of CIC’s online foreign policy magazine Open Canada, president of the CIC Victoria branch and a sessional professor with the Canadian Forces College where he teaches courses focused on Canadian foreign and defence policy. He also holds a PhD in history from Queen’s University with a focus on civil-military relations in the developing world. Chris also enjoyed a 36-year career in the Canadian Army, commanding 4th Air Defence Regiment, followed by various senior positions in the Department of National Defence, including Director, Future Security Analysis and Military Liaison Officer to the Senate Committee on National Security and Defence. From July 2009 until July 2010, Chris deployed to Canada’s Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan as the Deputy Military Attaché. On his return to Canada, he commenced Turkish language training, after which he was sent to Canada’s Embassy in Ankara as the Canadian Defence Attaché with cross accreditation to Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkmenistan. He was in this post from July 2011 until July 2014. Chris retired from the military in September 2014.

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To attend this event please email Roger Love at: cicvicpip@gmail.com

The event is open to CIC members only. The cost to attend is $22.50, which will cover a first drink and a round of appetizers.

Confirmation of your registration along with payment instructions will be provided. If you are not able to attend after registering, and there is a waiting list, your registration fee will be reimbursed. If we have no waiting list, unfortunately refunds cannot be given.