Since the establishment of APEC in 1989, Canada has been actively involved in the organization through the participation of Canadian government departments, the business community, academics, the broader non-governmental community, and in the work of APEC groups and committees. For Canada, involvement in APEC is a means to stimulate both the economic and the social development of the region, and hence, to contribute to a more dynamic environment within Canada. (Canada. Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade).