Canadian trade minister Mary Ng concluded a ‘Team Canada’ trade mission to Indonesia and the Philippines last Friday, leading 300 representatives from more than 190 Canadian organizations including Blackberry Cybersecurity, Sun Life, and Parkland Corporation.
The trip dovetailed with the opening of an Export Development Canada office in Manila and an announcement by Ng and her Philippine counterpart regarding the launch of discussions towards a Canada-Philippines free trade agreement.
This year is the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Canada and the Philippines. Bilateral ties hit a high-water mark in 2024, thanks in part to initiatives — spanning trade, maritime security, cybersecurity, and more — kickstarted by Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy.
Last month’s joint aerial patrol over Philippine waters, using a Canadian Dash-8 surveillance aircraft, was one recent success. The operation uncovered 88 potentially illegal fishing activities, an “eye-opener” for the Philippines, according to the country’s fisheries bureau.
Forums such as APF Canada’s recent strategic dialogue — featuring government officials, private-sector leaders, and academics — have built on this bilateral momentum.
While in Manila, Ng presided over the signing of an arrangement between Canada and the Philippines to boost co-operation on nuclear energy. Manila is seeking to bolster its energy security in light of regular ‘brownouts’ and outages across the country’s 7,600-plus islands.
The country’s energy mix is dominated by coal (47%) and natural gas (22%).
New immigration targets could hurt Philippines
In September, 65 per cent of Canadians surveyed by Leger Marketing for the Association for Canadian Studies said there were “too many” immigrants coming to Canada, up from 35 per cent in 2019.
The Philippines — the third-largest source country for international students in Canada and, so far in 2024, the second-largest source country for new permanent residents to Canada — may suffer from any further tightening of immigration flows.
Meanwhile, groups such as the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines argue that Canada “risks tarnishing its image as a defender of democracy and civil liberties” by deepening security and defence ties with the Philippines.
