Marcos to visit Canada, focus on security and trade

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will be visiting Canada from July 1 to 4 to “further [deepen] Philippines-Canada partnership and [advance] cooperation in key strategic sectors,” Malacañang announced late Friday, June 26.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Joseph Carney invited Marcos for an official visit. The two are expected to hold a bilateral meeting during the visit.

“The two leaders are expected to assess progress in defense and security engagements and efforts to expand trade and investment, and explore avenues to bolster cooperation in enhancing economic resilience, strengthening collaboration in energy and critical minerals, and reinforce people-to-people linkages,” said the Palace.

Marcos will be the first Philippine president to undertake an official visit to Canada in more than a decade since the late Benigno Aquino III’s visit in 2015. Carney’s predecessor, Justin Trudeau, was the last Canadian prime minister to visit the Philippines in 2017.

Carney and Marcos had their first in-person meeting in October 2025, on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Malaysia.

Manila’s current role as ASEAN chair, as well as Canada’s ties to the bloc, are also expected to be taken up during the two leaders’ meeting.

In Canada, Marcos will also be meeting with “Canadian business leaders and investors in sectors critical to the Philippines’ economic agenda, including information technology, business process management, artificial intelligence (AI), and critical infrastructure, critical minerals, and other high-growth industries,” said Malacañang.

He will be joined by First Lady Louise Araneta-Marcos during the visit.

“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. I look forward to hosting President Marcos Jr. as we bring our countries ever closer,” said Carney in a release from his office.

Canada and the Philippines enjoy close political, trade, and defense ties. Manila is where Canada’s Indo-Pacific Agriculture and Agri-Food Office is based.

The Philippines in 2025 signed a Status of the Visiting Forces Agreement with Canada. Even as the agreement has yet to be concurred with by the Senate, Canada’s military has already trained closely with its Filipino counterparts, most recently during the 2026 United States-Philippines Balikatan war games. In 2023, Canada gave the Philippines access to its Dark Vessel Detection System.

Ottawa is among those who have consistently backed the Philippines in its attempts to uphold its sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea based on international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 2016 Arbitral Award.

Earlier in June 2026, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. became the first Philippine defense chief to visit Ottawa. During that visit, the two countries signed a Mutual Logistics Support Arrangement and Statement of Intent on Strengthening Defense Cooperation. – Rappler.com