Thank you very much, Ambassador. Hello, everyone. President Marcos, it is a great honour, a great pleasure to welcome you to Vancouver, and in an official capacity, welcome you back to British Columbia. I trust that you will feel at home here because the Filipino community is at the very heart of Canada. Canada is home to more than 1 million Filipino Canadians. There are nearly 200,000 Filipino Canadians who reside right here in beautiful British Columbia. They’re our doctors, our nurses, our caregivers who help Canadians in their most critical moments. They’re entrepreneurs, businesses, businesses that, in some cases, have become the gathering places for families and friends, local restaurants here in Vancouver, Plato Filipino, global icons like Jollibee, where we will be going.

(Laughter)

We just had a working lunch. We didn’t eat at our working lunch. So, we’re going to Jollibee to get some real sustenance.

(Laughter)

Filipino culture is proudly celebrated in the music, the dance, the art of our festivals – Kamayan Fest, Pinoy Festival – and Filipino Canadians, Canadians join also when there’s tragedy, as we joined a little more than a year ago to support each other after the Lapu-Lapu tragedy, not far from here. Mr. President, we are one people united in diversity and our humanity, and Filipino Canadians are also helping to lead our nation, including my colleague Rechie Valdez, Canada’s first Filipina member of Parliament, our first Filipina Cabinet minister.

(Applause)

The community, the Filipino community, has helped build the Canada that we know today; a Canada that’s stronger, it’s richer, it’s more vibrant because of the people who’ve chosen to make it their home. And this relationship extends across the Pacific to the Philippines, where we share an enduring friendship and now a deepening trade and security relationship. And it’s that community that’s part of the bridge, as you said, that links our two countries together and that relationship on which we are building today.

This visit comes at an important moment, a pivotal moment for Canada, for the Philippines, and our peoples. The world is more dangerous. It’s more divided. Old alliances are being tested as new threats emerge. And, at the same time, as we discussed, new opportunities are opening up in commerce, in technology, in energy, and in our culture. And so, in a rapidly changing world, what Canada is doing is deepening our partnerships with countries who share our values and our ambitions. And to that end, we’re deepening our trade and investment across ASEAN, the fastest growing region in the world. And nowhere is that more important than under your leadership, President Marcos, your leadership, your presidency of ASEAN. We’re moving with determination to conclude negotiations of our Canada-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement by this summit this year. This agreement, once constituted, will reduce tariffs – in some cases fully eliminate them – for our exports, help give Canadian workers and businesses access to a $5-trillion market of over 700 million people. Critically, crucially, we’re also working hard to finalize negotiations on the Canada-Philippines Free Trade Agreement. You and I committed, or intended, last year when we met for the first time bilaterally to look to conclude that agreement this year. We’re making good progress.

It’s an enormous opportunity to deepen that partnership. As I said at the start, the Philippines is one of Southeast Asia’s fastest growing economies, and if it’s one of Southeast Asia’s fastest growing economies, it’s one of the world’s fastest growing economies, a population of almost 120 million people. We have a prospect of tripling our bilateral trade, in both directions, by 2035, great opportunities for our business. And, really, this free trade agreement would be the foundation of our new Canada-Philippines strategic partnership, where together we’re launching a new era of cooperation, deepening our collaboration in trade, in energy, defence, and tourism. And, as part of this partnership, we’re announcing a joint declaration of intent on energy and natural resource cooperation and a new technical assistance partnership. We’re already ourselves amongst the world’s largest critical minerals producers. We’re one of the top five global producers in 10 different critical minerals. You’re one of the largest exporters of nickel, ore, major producers of minerals like cobalt and copper, and we share your objective to increase not just the production but the processing of these essential materials.

Together, Canada and the Philippines are leveraging their resources to strengthen critical mineral supply chains and to supply more critical minerals from Canada and the Philippines to global markets. 

Now, economic cooperation is not enough: it has to be underpinned, reinforced, by shared security. And that’s why we’re deepening our collaboration in marine, maritime security and in multinational military operations. We’ll soon ratify the Status of Visiting Sources… Forces, sorry, Status of Visiting Forces Agreement, enabling our armed forces to train and operate more closely through joint military exercises in both of our countries, reinforcing our collective security.

We will strengthen the ties between our peoples, which have long united our two countries, because the relationship between Canada and the Philippines is based not only on trade, but also on people. Today, we signed two memoranda of understanding to boost tourism, which will make it easier for people from Canada and the Philippines to discover everything that our countries have to offer. 

We’ve also signed an important joint declaration of intent on labour and migration to strengthen protection for migrant workers and to promote ethical recruitment. Filipino workers make extraordinary contributions to communities across the world and across Canada. And when they’re here, we will ensure they are treated fairly, can work safely, and have their rights protected. So, together, we’re building a future where peace is sustained through cooperation, where prosperity is shared, and where opportunity is open to all: a future built through partnership. President Marcos, thank you for your leadership, thank you for your leadership of your country, of ASEAN, and thank you for your leadership on the global stage. Thank you for joining us to build our future together.

(Applause)