Canada has successfully concluded negotiations for a new free trade agreement with the Philippines, just one year after the talks were officially launched. The announcement was confirmed by Mark Carney, who is currently in Manila to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit.
Carney noted that the deal is a significant component of Canada's broader strategy to diversify its trade partnerships. By building a network of reliable international partners, Ottawa intends to create more opportunities for Canadian businesses, provide more choice for citizens, and generate better jobs for workers. The initiative is also designed to reduce the country's relative economic reliance on the United States.
Highlighting the potential impact of the agreement, Carney emphasized that the deal will benefit various sectors of the Canadian economy. These include agriculture, aerospace, and artificial intelligence, as well as businesses involved in forest products, mining, energy, and services.
This push to align more closely with international partners—including those in Europe—follows repeated trade-related clashes with United States President Donald Trump. Canada has set a goal to double its non-US exports by 2035.
The diplomatic schedule remains busy for those involved in these discussions. President Trump is expected to arrive in Manila early next week before traveling to China for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Shenzhen. Following his time in the Philippines, Carney is scheduled to travel to Cambodia before eventually heading to China.
"This is good news for Canadians in the agriculture sector, in the aerospace sector, even in AI, and our businesses working across forest products, mining, energy, services and beyond," he told reporters.
