Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr’s trip to Canada highlights deepening ties at a time when Ottawa is seeking to court middle powers and establish its presence in the Indo-Pacific.
Marcos is in the Canadian capital for a four-day visit that started on Wednesday, where he is set to meet Prime Minister Mark Carney in an effort to strengthen cooperation on trade, labour, energy and tourism, and enhance defence and maritime ties.
He is also slated to meet Canadian business leaders and investors to explore opportunities in sectors such as mining, information technology, business process management, telecommunications, nuclear energy and financial services.
Marcos also plans to meet the overseas Filipino community in Vancouver, home to one of the largest concentrations of the diaspora in the country.
The visit comes as Ottawa looks to deepen ties with Asia’s middle powers – Japan’s Sanae Takaichi and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are both set to meet Carney in Canada later this year.
“The Philippines is an important place to begin because it is where Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy has arguably had its greatest impact,” Vina Nadjibulla, vice-president for research and strategy of the Asia Pacific Foundation Canada, wrote in an article posted on the foundation’s website on Monday.
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