Good afternoon.
We will be departing for Ottawa shortly, concluding an important and productive week.
This was my first trip to Asia as Prime Minister.
This is a region that, like Canada, is at the forefront of the global transformation that is gathering pace.
Throughout my visit – in every conversation with every world leader, every CEO, every investor – there was one theme that remained constant: uncertainty.
And because this is Asia, the conversation quickly turned to opportunity.
Uncertainty holds back investment. It freezes business strategies and curtails jobs.
Opportunity comes from fundamentally changing how countries trade, partner, and build.
Canada has found itself at a turning point, at the dawn of a new era.
The old world, which was once the mainstay of our prosperity, is in the process of disappearing.
The new world has yet to emerge.
Our response today will shape our economic future for decades to come.
Ambition, innovation, and growth will be the hallmark of Canada’s next chapter.
In three days, our government will table our first federal budget – our plan to protect our communities, our borders, and our way of life.
To build a stronger economy where everyone has a chance to get ahead.
And to empower Canadians with new opportunities, better careers, and a lower cost of living.
Our budget will respond head-on to the challenges of our time.
The United States is changing all its trading relationships.
After all the noise of this week, Canada still has the best trade deal of any country, and we stand ready to negotiate an even better one for both countries.
We know we have to transform our economy – from one of reliance on a single trade partner to one that is more resilient to global shocks; to an economy built on the solid foundation of strong Canadian industries and bolstered by diverse international trade partners.
That is the aim of Budget 2025: to catalyse unprecedented levels of investment into Canada. Generational investments that will create good high-paying careers for Canadian workers.
On top of that, we are embarking on an ambitious new mission to double our non-U.S. exports in the next decade.
This will generate $300 billion more in trade – new orders for Canadian resources, Canadian industries, and Canadian expertise.
Our foremost priority in Southeast Asia is to diversify trade and attract investments to Canada.
The Canadian ministers of National Defence and International Trade and I have been working to establish new partnerships and generate fresh prospects.
We intend to secure new trade agreements in one of the world’s most economically dynamic regions, a region at the forefront of global growth.
APEC, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, is a global powerhouse: 21 member economies representing over 60% of the world’s GDP, half of all global trade, and nearly 40% of the world’s population.
An exciting future is being written here – we’re here to ensure that Canada is a big part of it.
In Gyeongju, I met with President Lee of Korea to announce the new Security and Defence Cooperation Partnership – the first of its kind for Canada in the Indo-Pacific.
We are deepening cooperation with Korea on security, defence, and emerging domains such as cyber, AI, and quantum.
This global strategic partnership between Canada and Korea will bolster the open, free, and rules-based Indo-Pacific region.
This agreement will stimulate innovation in the defence sector and generate new prospects for Canadian and Korean workers.
Since we signed our free trade agreement with Korea a decade ago, trade between our nations has doubled. And we can do a lot more.
So next year, there will be a Team Canada Trade Mission to Korea – to find new markets and new customers for Canadian workers and businesses.
Also in Gyeongju, Prime Minister Charnvirakul of Thailand and I announced that we will launch free trade negotiations between our nations.
Thailand is Canada’s second-largest trading partner in Southeast Asia, and a free trade agreement will create new opportunities for Canadian companies in agri-food, infrastructure, clean technology, and defence.
Yesterday, President Xi of China and I had the first formal meeting between the leaders of our two countries in nearly eight years.
We must talk to one another to make progress.
The meeting marked a turning point in our bilateral relationship. We have now unlocked a path forward to address current issues and build the enormous opportunities between our two countries – including in agriculture, energy, clean technologies, tourism, and cultural exchanges.
I have accepted President Xi’s invitation to visit China in the new year.
President Xi and I have directed our ministers and officials to work together to find solutions to current challenges, and to identify areas for cooperation and growth, in advance of our meeting.
This morning, I met with President Boric of Chile, where we signed an updated Canada-Chile Strategic Partnership – deepening cooperation in critical minerals, clean energy, wildfire management, and digital technologies.
Chile – the world’s largest copper producer, with the world’s largest copper and lithium reserves – wants to work with Canada’s sophisticated mining and infrastructure investors to sustainably develop supply chains.
Canada and Chile have been partners in a free trade agreement since 1997.
We are reinforcing this relationship to increase the volume of Canadian exports and generate further business opportunities for Canadian companies, particularly in the mining, pharmaceutical product, and machinery sectors.
This progress builds on the momentum from earlier this week, on the margins of the ASEAN Summit, where I met with President Marcos of the Philippines. We agreed to initiate negotiations on a new free trade agreement between our two nations, with the ambitious goal of concluding next year.
In all of my meetings with ASEAN leaders, I heard a consistent message: ASEAN wants to do more business with Canada. To that end, we agreed to accelerate the Canada-ASEAN free trade negotiations, targeting completion next year.
The new Canada-ASEAN free trade agreement would create jobs for Canadian workers in sectors such as critical minerals, clean tech, agri-food, aerospace, and advanced manufacturing – while lowering prices for Canadian consumers on goods like electronics and clothing.
This week, I also met with CEOs of multinational companies, investors, and heads of sovereign wealth funds from across Asia to catalyse massive new investment into Canada.
I visited the Hanwha Ocean Shipyard, one of the finalists for the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project.
This project will protect Canadians and our allies and provide enormous ongoing investment and jobs in Canada.
And in Kuala Lumpur, we announced funding to expand the BlackBerry Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence into an international hub for cyber intelligence and security innovation, and witnessed Malaysia Airlines sign a deal with CAE to purchase a Canadian-built flight simulator – a testament to Canada’s ever-growing economic footprint in the region.
Our government is moving fast and working hard to expand Canada’s reach globally.
We have already signed new agreements with the United Arab Emirates in artificial intelligence, the European Union in defence and trade, Germany in critical minerals, and Mexico in agri-food.
We have also finalised negotiations on a free trade agreement with Ecuador that reduces or eliminates tariffs on most Canadian exports.
And last month, in Ottawa, we concluded an historic new free trade agreement with Indonesia.
As I said earlier, the mission of Budget 2025 is to catalyse unprecedented investment in Canada.
To support that, we are forging new partnerships with APEC countries so Canadian workers and businesses can sell more of what we build and grow.
And we are making it easier to build more, build big, and build fast in Canada.
Canada is entering a new era.
This is our moment to define our next century.
We have the resources to transform our economy from reliance to resilience.
We are an energy superpower: we have the third-largest reserves of oil and are the fourth-largest natural gas producer in the world.
This past June, we shipped our first major LNG export to Asia. By 2030, Canada will produce 50 million tonnes of LNG each year – all destined for Asian markets. By 2040, that number could double.
We already have an 85% clean electricity grid, which we can increase by another 50% through new generation – including large-scale hydro and nuclear, both utility-scale and commercial SMRs.
Last week, we announced a new funding plan for the Darlington New Nuclear Project in Ontario that will make Canada the first G7 country to have an operational small modular reactor.
This will power clean manufacturing, AI infrastructure, and the electrification of our sustainable economy.
We are among the top five producers of 10 critical minerals essential for the energy transition.
We are fast-tracking new mines and producing to meet demand.
We are the premier destination in the world for people with master’s degrees, and we are home to the most qualified workforce on the planet.
Canada is a world leader in clean energy, artificial intelligence, life sciences, and quantum computing.
In an uncertain world, a confident Canada is charting its own course, finding new partners, making major investments, seizing the future for Canadian workers and their families.
We are Canada Strong.