Good evening. 

We have had a highly productive few days at the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur.

Canada’s Minister of International Trade and I have focused on building new partnerships and unlocking new economic opportunities for Canadian workers and businesses.

We have come together at a time that is both crucial and full of opportunities.

The world has become more dangerous and divided.

The global trading system is undergoing fundamental changes.

Technological change and the energy transition are accelerating at an unprecedented pace.

The old world order is in the past, and although Canada prospered in that system, we know that nostalgia is not a strategy. 

That is why we are forging a new way forward for our country. 

On November 4, our government will table our first federal budget – our plan to protect our communities, our borders, 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.

Central to this mission is 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. 

I chose this summit for my first visit to Asia as Prime Minister because the Canada-ASEAN relationship is full of potential. 

This is a region of nearly 700 million consumers with a market worth over $5 trillion.

It is already Canada’s second-largest trading partner, with over $260 billion in two-way merchandise trade. 

Yet it still represents only 10% of our exports.

To that end, our new government is working to strike new trade deals in the Indo-Pacific. 

In the past few months, we have signed new agreements with the United Arab Emirates in artificial intelligence, with the European Union in defence and trade, with Germany in critical minerals, and with Mexico in agri-food.

We signed a free trade deal with Ecuador that reduces or eliminates tariffs on the majority of Canadian exports. 

Last month, in Ottawa, we concluded an historic new free trade agreement with Indonesia – Canada’s first bilateral free trade agreement with an ASEAN nation.

This week, in Kuala Lumpur, we agreed to accelerate progress on a new Canada-ASEAN free trade agreement, targeting completion next year.

Yesterday, I met with the Prime Minister of Laos, the President of the Philippines, and the Prime Minister of Vietnam to move these talks forward.

A deal that would add over $1.5 billion to our economy by giving Canadian workers and businesses greater access to some of the fastest growing markets in the world.

Creating 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.

President Marcos of the Philippines and I also agreed to launch talks on a new free trade agreement between our two nations, with a goal of concluding next year.

This week, we made significant progress on energy.

Today, Canada and Malaysia signed a Letter of Intent to deepen investment in liquified natural gas, oil, nuclear power, and renewables. 

I met with the CEO of Petronas, one of the world’s largest energy companies and a major investor in LNG Canada Phase 1 – the liquified natural gas facility in Kitimat, British Columbia. 

Phase 2 of this project will double production, making it the second-largest facility of its kind in the world and creating tens of thousands of new, high-paying Canadian careers.

We have referred Phase 2 of this project to our Major Projects Office because we want it built fast and to the benefit of Canadians, including Indigenous partners. 

Together with Petronas, we are exploring new opportunities to expand our partnership and strengthen Canada’s role as a reliable energy supplier.

By 2030, Canada can produce nearly 50 million tonnes of LNG each year – enough to supply Singapore five times over – we could double again by 2040.

We are also working in the field of carbon capture and are putting our resources to work to help ASEAN transition toward a more resilient, low-emission economy.

By putting Canadian innovation to work for ASEAN’s energy infrastructure, like its new electricity grid, we are opening the door to billions of dollars in new opportunities for Canadian companies and Canadian workers. 

And we are helping our ASEAN partners to achieve their connectivity goals. 

Canada is also unlocking new opportunities in technology.

Canada’s BlackBerry operates its Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence here in Malaysia.

We announced an investment to expand the Centre into an international hub for cyber intelligence and security innovation.

Today, I visited CAE, with whom Malaysia Airlines has just signed a deal to purchase a Canadian-built flight simulator. 

And I met with the CEO of AirAsia about a potentially large order for A220 planes, designed and built in Québec.

These are the kinds of partnerships we will keep building – because Canada has what the world wants.

World-class talent, with expertise in clean technology, artificial intelligence, life sciences, and quantum computing.

We are the world’s number one destination for master’s degrees – the most educated workforce in the world. 

We are an energy superpower: we have the third-largest reserves of oil and are the fourth largest natural gas producer in the world.  

We have an 85% clean electricity grid – which we can readily increase by 50% to power clean manufacturing, AI infrastructure, and the electrification of our sustainable economy.

We have deposits of over 34 critical minerals and are ranked among the top 5 producers for 10 of those most essential for the world’s energy transition.

And we will be quadrupling our defence industrial spending over the next five years, strengthening our role in collective security and creating new careers in Canada’s defence industries. 

Next weekend, Canada’s Minister of National Defence will be in the Philippines to deepen our cooperation with Southeast Asia – expanding access for the Canadian Armed Forces for training and joint operations in the Philippines and strengthening our shared commitment to regional stability. 

The combination of these economic strengths and our budget strategy to spend less so Canadians can invest more will give investors confidence to build in Canada, innovators the stability they need to take risks in Canada, and the world the reasons to trust Canadians as reliable partners.

Canada has what the world wants. 

Canada has what the world needs. 

It is up to us to sell the world what Canada has to offer.

Selling our products to the world is a Team Canada effort.

Federal ministers are working hard, securing deals and building relationships across Asia.

Premiers from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island are leading trade missions across the region.

Tomorrow, I will be heading to Singapore to meet with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and major investors to promote cooperation in the areas of trade, energy, and technology.

And, later this week, I will be taking part in the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in South Korea to build on this progress and strengthen our ties in the areas of agriculture, defence, and critical minerals.

To quote our host, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim: “The old world order is disappearing, and the new one has yet to emerge.”

It is a time to be bold. 

How we respond will shape Canada’s path for decades to come. 

By making generational investments at home and building deeper partnerships abroad, we will build Canada strong.