MANILA — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. returned to the Philippines on Monday after securing US$2.5 billion in investment commitments from Canadian partners and forging a strategic partnership with Canada, marking the most significant outcome of his four-day official visit aimed at expanding economic, trade and security cooperation.
During the visit, Marcos and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney agreed to elevate Philippines-Canada relations to a strategic partnership, paving the way for broader collaboration in trade, defense, energy, tourism and other priority sectors.
Carney described the agreement as the beginning of “a new era of cooperation” and said both countries have the potential to triple bilateral trade by 2035.
The two leaders also instructed their foreign ministers to formulate a plan of action to deepen cooperation in addressing global challenges and advancing long-term bilateral priorities.
They likewise reaffirmed their commitment to conclude negotiations for both the Philippines-Canada Free Trade Agreement and the ASEAN-Canada Free Trade Agreement within the year.
The visit produced Joint Declarations of Intent on energy and natural resources, labor and migration, and cultural cooperation, as well as a Memorandum of Understanding on tourism cooperation.
The Philippines and Canada also agreed to explore future partnerships in mining, critical minerals, nuclear energy and the space sector.
Marcos, accompanied by members of his economic team, also held investment roundtable discussions with Canadian business leaders representing the mining, critical minerals, energy, and information technology-business process management industries.
“All these business engagements in the sectors of mining, critical minerals, energy, services, and IT BPM resulted in a combined US$2.5 billion in investment from Canadian partners,” Marcos said.
The President likewise met with members of the Filipino community in Canada, where he acknowledged their contributions to both countries and reiterated his administration’s goal of making overseas employment a matter of choice rather than necessity.
The official visit, however, was met by a small protest in Vancouver, where demonstrators raised concerns over issues in the Philippines, including employment opportunities and the government’s handling of the flood control controversy./PN
