Does one of the 3 countries have to be the country of origin (ie passport)?

Canadian passport, flying to Hong Kong for a few days, then flying to Shanghai the day before a cruise that goes to Japan and then back to Shanghai, then we will stay in Shanghai for 3 days before flying back to Hong Kong for a few weeks. Would we qualify? Does one of the 3 countries have to be Canada, or does HK-Shanghai-Japan qualify? Does Japan still count as a third country if it is part of a cruise itinerary?