Celebrating 75 years of partnership

This year, Canada and the Philippines are celebrating 75 years of bilateral diplomatic relations—a most significant milestone.

It was in 1949 that Canada first established a small trade mission in Manila that helped to build the thriving commercial relationship that our countries enjoy today. In 1972, that trade mission was expanded and reconstituted as a full-service embassy. In 2024, our embassy will be one of Canada’s largest diplomatic missions in the world.

Our diplomatic presence in the Philippines has grown in step with the strengthening partnership between our two countries, underpinned by our deep and robust people-to-people ties.

Today, one in every 40 residents of Canada is of Filipino heritage, and the Philippines is one of Canada’s most important sources of new immigrants and foreign students. Tagalog is also one of the fastest-growing languages spoken in Canada. Virtually every Filipino I meet across this beautiful country has a family member or friend in Canada, and not just in our big cities. Our relationship is, indeed, a familial one.

It is unsurprising, therefore, that when Canada unveiled its Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS) in November 2022, the Philippines was singled out as a priority partner. In the 14 months since the IPS was launched, we have accomplished a lot to be proud of, from the introduction of electronic travel authorizations and accelerated visa processing to the inauguration of our joint economic commission to the launch of our Dark Vessel Detection system in support of Philippine efforts to enhance maritime safety and security in its exclusive economic zone.

There is more to come.

We have already kicked off this anniversary year with a bang, deepening our cooperation on cybersecurity and cyberdefense and concluding a new memorandum of understanding on defense cooperation. We have also hosted a visit of Canada’s minister of international development, who unveiled $28 million in new investments Canada is making to combat climate change, enhance disaster resilience, and improve the delivery of public health here in the Philippines.

In the coming weeks, we will welcome our Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, the honorable Lawrence MacAulay, to open Canada’s new Indo-Pacific Agriculture and Agri-Food Office here in Manila. We are also excited to welcome our first-ever seafood mission from Atlantic Canada later this month.

I am excited about the many opportunities for expanded commercial opportunities for our businesses and workers. Bilateral merchandise and services trade stands at about 4 billion Canadian dollars. I am confident that this amount will continue to grow in the coming years, as a result of the complementary nature of our trade and investment relationship. The recent implementation of economic reforms, including the new Public-Private Partnership Code in the Philippines, has created more opportunities for our citizens, notably in areas of considerable Canadian strength. From projects in agriculture, clean technologies, creative industries, critical minerals, and defense, to infrastructure and information and communications technologies, I am eager to witness what the next year will bring.

We will also soon unveil new investments and initiatives in disaster risk reduction, promotion and defense of human rights, and the fight against organized crime.

The Canadian Armed Forces will continue to expand its engagement with the Armed Forces of the Philippines on land, in the air, and at sea. We now look forward to concluding a Visiting Forces Agreement to further reinforce our rapidly evolving defense partnership.

We also look forward to the inaugural Canada-Philippines maritime dialogue, to be held later this year—a forum that will bring new focus to our collaboration to improve maritime domain awareness, combat illegal and unreported fishing, improve maritime safety and security, and protect marine ecosystems.

This is just a small sampling of what lies ahead.

The ambition and commitment I see on both sides of the Pacific to capitalize on the opportunities before us are clear. They are the product of 75 years of sustained, collaborative cooperation, and built on a foundation of shared interests and values, including our common commitments to democracy, a rules-based international order, free trade, human rights, and an inclusive and prosperous Indo-Pacific.

Thanks to the investments we have made in each other over three-quarters of a century, the trust we have built, and the understanding that we have fostered between our peoples—Canada and the Philippines are well-positioned to meet the challenges of the 21st century together.

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David Hartman is Canada’s ambassador to the Philippines.