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Today, the Prime Minister, Mark Carney, announced that the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., will visit Vancouver, British Columbia, from July 1 to 4, 2026. This will be the first visit by a head of state of the Philippines to Canada in 11 years.
With nearly one million Canadians of Filipino descent, the diaspora is one of Canada’s most dynamic, vibrant, and expansive. Canada and the Philippines have a strong and rapidly growing partnership across commerce, defence, energy, and culture. In one year, we’ve signed agreements to enable our armed forces to train and serve together and to strengthen our defence cooperation – and Canadian direct investment in the Philippines has grown more than 40%.
Building on this momentum, Prime Minister Carney and President Marcos Jr. will identify further opportunities to deepen our economic and security partnership. This includes accelerating the negotiations of a Canada-Philippines free trade agreement and a Canada-ASEAN free trade agreement, both targeting conclusion this year during the Philippines’ ASEAN chairmanship. The leaders will focus on increasing ties across maritime security and defence, energy, critical minerals, tourism and culture, and food security.
In an increasingly dangerous and uncertain world, Canada is focused on what we can control: diversifying our trade, attracting investment, and deepening our ties with reliable partners.
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“The relationship between Canada and the Philippines is strengthened by the deep ties between our citizens. With the Filipino Canadian diaspora nearly one million strong, Canada and the Philippines are building up our partnership so it’s stronger and more expansive, and so it reflects the depth of our values. I look forward to hosting President Marcos Jr. as we bring our countries ever closer.”
Quick facts
- Prime Minister Carney and President Marcos Jr. had their first in-person meeting at the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in October 2025.
- Canada has further expanded its presence in the Philippines through the establishment of an Export Development Canada office and an Indo-Pacific Agriculture and Agri-Food office.
- The Secretary of National Defense of the Philippines, Gilberto Teodoro, visited Ottawa, Ontario, from June 11 to 12, 2026, becoming the first Philippine Defence Minister to visit Canada. The visit marked two significant milestones in the Canada-Philippines defence relationship: the signing of a Mutual Logistics Support Arrangement and the signing of a Statement of Intent on Strengthening Defence Cooperation.
- In 2025, bilateral merchandise trade between Canada and the Philippines was valued at $3.4 billion. The Philippines was Canada’s sixth-largest merchandise export market in ASEAN.
