Amid the threat of an early federal election, the prime minister left Ottawa during a chaotic parliamentary sitting week for a meeting of Southeast Asian countries in Laos. Despite everything unfolding on Parliament Hill,

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada needs to keep up its presence in Southeast Asia if it wants to benefit from the region's economic boom.

To benefit from what Southeast Asia has to offer, Canadians need to make their presence felt in the region, Prime Minister says

At the ASEAN Summit, Trudeau announced that Canada is upgrading its diplomatic missions in Vientiane, Laos, and Phnom Penh, Cambodia to full embassies.