MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will travel to Canada for an official visit on July 1 to 4, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said on Sunday.
In Vancouver, he will meet with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to take up the defense and economic partnerships between the two countries.
The PCO said the two leaders would “explore avenues to bolster cooperation in enhancing economic resilience, strengthening collaboration in energy and critical minerals, and reinforcing people-to-people linkages.”
They will also discuss the Philippines’ chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and the strategic priorities of the region.
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Canada has been an Asean dialogue partner since 1977, and has maintained a strategic partnership with Asean since 2023.
Canada-Asean trade
Included in the agenda is a discussion on expediting the negotiations of a free-trade agreement between Manila and Ottawa in the context of the Canada-Asean free trade agreement (FTA), which Carney’s office said will be concluded this year.
Citing a 2018 joint feasibility study, the Department of Trade and Industry said the Philippines will increase its gross domestic product by 2.63 percent, equivalent to $7.4 billion a year, should the Canada-Asean FTA materialize.
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The Philippines was Canada’s sixth-largest merchandise export market in Asean last year, with bilateral trade between the two countries totaling $3.4 billion, up by 7.4 percent from $3.2 billion in 2024.Canada expanded its presence in the Philippines through the establishment of an Indo-Pacific Agriculture and Agri-Food office in 2023 and an Export Development Canada office in 2024.
“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,” the Office of the Prime Minister of Canada said in a statement.
The PCO said Mr. Marcos will lead engagements with Canadian business leaders and investors in sectors critical to Manila’s economic agenda, including information technology, business process management, artificial intelligence, critical infrastructure, critical minerals, and other high-growth industries.
Carney’s statement
First lady Liza Araneta-Marcos will accompany the president in meeting with the Filipino community in Vancouver. According to the latest Canadian census in 2021, about 1 million Filipinos live in Canada.
“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,” Carney said in a separate statement.
“I look forward to hosting President Marcos Jr. as we bring our countries ever closer,” he added.
Mr. Marcos’ visit marks the first official visit of a Philippine president to Canada in more than a decade, following that of then-President Benigno Aquino III in 2015. This will be Mr. Marcos’ 44th overseas trip since assuming the presidency in 2022.
Defense ties
Mr. Marcos and Carney had their first in-person meeting at the Asean Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in October 2025.
Manila and Ottawa have maintained diplomatic relations since 1949. However, it was only in recent years that Canada has become among the Philippines’ growing defense allies in the Indo-Pacific region.Earlier this month, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. visited Ottawa to sign the Mutual Logistics
Support Arrangement and the signing of a Statement of Intent on Strengthening Defence Cooperation, which aims to expand military cooperation, logistics support, and joint exercises between the countries’ armed forces.
The agreements build on the Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (Sovfa) signed in November 2025, which allows troops from both countries to train and operate in each other’s territory. The treaty, however, has yet to be ratified.
During this year’s largest Balikatan exercises between the Philippines and the United States, Canada completed its inaugural active participation, moving from its previous observer role.
Australia, France, Japan, and New Zealand also sent their troops to the annual joint military drills. /atm