For Monasterio and others, the visit merges soft diplomacy through cultural and student exchanges with state diplomacy. "It's in the people-to-people world ... where Canadian-Cuban relationships are the most significant," said Karen Dubinsky, who teaches in a joint Queen's University-University of Havana course that brings Cuban students to Canada and sends Canadian students to Cuba.

A group of powerful Chinese business leaders set off on an eight-day Canadian tour Sunday that will connect them with Canada’s corporate and political elite, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. This will be the first visit to Canada by the exclusive China Entrepreneur Club — often referred to as the billionaires club. It’s made up of 50 top Chinese firms that earn a combined $585 billion of annual gross income.

According to Ma Weihua, CEC president, the main purpose of the group's international tours is to bolster public diplomacy of the Chinese private sector, demonstrate the integrity of Chinese entrepreneurs, learn from the most advanced business environments of the world and seek opportunities for cooperation.

Since his election in October 2015, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been focusing on the re-branding of Canadian soft power and has concentrated on returning to the “international mediator” position it had held at the end of the 20th century. The strides he has made towards this has been reflected in his shuttle diplomacy with governments and organizations across the world.

In late September, 2016, Premier Li Keqiang paid an official visit to Canada, the first trip by a Chinese premier in a long lapse of 13 years. It was also a reunion for Mr. Li and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shortly after the latter’s visit to China. During Mr. Li’s visit, the two sides reached broad consensus on strengthening bilateral co-operation in politics, economy and trade, and people-to-people exchanges.

Justin Trudeau will address the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, delivering his maiden speech as Canadian prime minister at the high-level diplomatic forum that had an acrimonious relationship with this country's previous government.[...] "With Trudeau, they're trying to re-engage," [...] "They're saying Canada is back in the world."

Essentially, from the moment he took office — from the Davos glitziest in January, to this month’s whirlwind trip to China — the prime minister has cannily seized on his international star appeal to try to create commercial benefit for the Canadian economy. And the right people are noticing [...] The challenge is how to build this opportunity. Our prime minister can and should be the door opener.