Remarks by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. during the Joint Press Statement (Canada)

Honourable Prime Minister Mark Carney, Esteemed members of the Canadian and Philippine delegations, Friends from the media, Ladies and gentlemen,

Good afternoon to you all and a belated Happy Canada Day to our Canadian friends. [applause]

I am pleased to visit Canada upon the invitation of Prime Minister Carney and to have the opportunity to meet him here in British Columbia.

Arriving in British Columbia carries a deep, symbolic significance, as the first documented Filipino arrival in Canada happened in this Province’s Bowen Island in 1861.

Prime Minister Carney and I had a one-on-one meeting this morning where we discussed the positive trajectory of our bilateral relations and the ways forward to ensure a sustained and dynamic partnership.

This was followed by an expanded bilateral meeting together with our delegations.

Today, I am pleased to announce the elevation of our bilateral relations to a Strategic Partnership.

We have tasked our Foreign Ministers to draw up a Plan of Action to pursue our shared commitment to work together in adapting to shifting global realities, addressing shared challenges, and building capacities for a future-ready partnership.

We recognize that robust defense and security cooperation underpins the strong momentum of our relations. Recent milestones in this pillar underscore the shared commitment of our countries to ensuring that our peoples continue to live in a peaceful and secure region.

We translate these aspirations into tangible and operational commitments. We welcome the signing of the Status of Visiting Forces Agreement in November 2025 in Manila, and the signing of the Mutual Logistics Support Arrangement and the Statement of Intent on Strengthening Defense Cooperation between the Philippines and Canada just two weeks ago in Ottawa.

A Strategic Partnership is defined not just by deep and close relations, but also by the reliability of the partnership.

To this end, we spoke about the importance of peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific and Canada’s increasing engagement in the region under its Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS).

I commended the IPS and emphasized the importance of building on its initiatives, both at the bilateral and multilateral levels.

I also thanked Canada for its Dark Vessel Detection (DVD) Program, which was deployed to the Philippines under the Strategy to aid the country in combating Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing (IUUF) and increase maritime domain awareness.

I conveyed keen interest in the continuation of the DVD program in Philippine waters.

As the Philippines celebrates the 10th anniversary of the 2016 Arbitral Tribunal Award on the South China Sea, I thanked Canada for its vocal and consistent support for a rules-based order in the South China Sea, under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and in upholding the Arbitral Award as final and legally binding.

Tomorrow, I will meet with several business leaders and key players in the Canadian mining, IT-BPM, and energy sectors.

Canadian businesses, including those in said sectors, have been largely successful in the Philippines.

I look forward to discussing more opportunities for deeper commercial ties between our countries.

Prime Minister Carney and I reaffirmed our commitment to conclude the negotiations for a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) this year, as we also negotiate the ASEAN-Canada Free Trade Agreement (ACAFTA).

We renewed our commitment to increase our bilateral trade, stand against economic coercion, and build a resilient supply chain.

We are pleased to witness the signing of the Joint Declaration of Intent on Energy and Natural Resources Cooperation.

Before I return home, I will meet with the Filipino community.

I am glad to see and hear from our Canadian friends that the one million strong Filipinos in Canada are valued and respected for their positive contributions to the Canadian society, economy, and government.

They serve as the heart and soul of the Strategic Partnership between the Philippines and Canada.

To unleash their full potential, it is essential that Filipino professionals are able to practice their professions in Canada.

In this regard, I conveyed our hope that Canada’s federal and provincial governments would continue working together to address barriers to the recognition of the credentials of Philippine-educated professionals.

I am also glad to have witnessed today the signing of bilateral understandings and declarations of cooperation in the areas of tourism, culture, and labor and migration.

These agreements will help us harness the strong people-to-people ties between our two countries, as we jointly build capacities and create a mutually beneficial talent pipeline for the future.

I would like to thank Prime Minister Carney and the members of his delegation for the warm welcome and productive discussions today.

Prime Minister Carney, I look forward to receiving you for the 49th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits in Manila in November.

Thank you.

Merci beaucoup [mehr-see boh-koo].

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