Canada has concluded negotiations on a free trade agreement with the Philippines, one year after the two countries announced their intention to pursue one, and has substantially concluded negotiations on a separate agreement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced in Manila on Saturday, where he was attending the 49th ASEAN Summit as Guest of the Chair and holding a bilateral visit with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Both countries are working toward signing the Philippines agreement in 2027, and Ottawa has the same ambition for the ASEAN agreement once its remaining steps are completed.
The Canadian government put the Philippines market at more than 110 million people and an economy of 680 billion dollars, and said the agreement could increase Canadian exports up to three times by 2035, particularly in agriculture and forest products; two-way merchandise trade between the two countries totalled 3.4 billion Canadian dollars in 2025. For the ASEAN agreement, covering a bloc of almost 700 million people and an economy of close to 6 trillion dollars, Ottawa expects almost 2 billion dollars added to Canada’s GDP and nearly 14,000 jobs once it is in force, and announced 5 million dollars in assistance to help ASEAN economies support its ratification.