Canada’s Mark Carney to attend ASEAN Summit in Manila

PH-CANADA TIES. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Prime Minister Mark Carney hold a joint press conference and witness the signing of several agreements and statements to conclude a bilateral meeting in Vancouver on Thursday, July 2.

Presidential Communications Office

Manila is the second leg in the Canadian leader's four-country sojourn across Europe and Asia

AT A GLANCE

• Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will attend the 49th ASEAN Summit in the Philippines as part of a four-country trip aimed at strengthening Canada's international partnerships.
• During his visit, Carney plans to finalize two free trade agreements, one with ASEAN and another with the Philippines, and will meet with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
• The trip follows a recent elevation of Canada-Philippines relations to a strategic partnership, with both leaders emphasizing the importance of collaboration among middle powers.

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MANILA, Philippines — Ottawa on Thursday, November 5, announced that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will be traveling to the Philippines to attend the 49th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit.

Manila will be the second in a four-country stop across Europe and Asia, which Carney’s office framed as his effort to “[build] our strength at home and [diversify] our partnerships abroad to open new markets, attract new investment, and create greater prosperity for Canadians.”

“In a rapidly changing world, Canada’s government is focused on what we can control,” Carney’s office said in an announcement. Carney will first travel to Ireland, then to the Philippines for ASEAN, Cambodia for the Sommet de la Francophonie, and China for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Meeting.

While his office did not say when he would be in Manila, he is likely to attend the first few days of the near week-long event. Work and classes have been suspended in Metro Manila from November 16 to 18 for the summit. The Francophonie Summit runs from November 15-16, while APEC takes place from the 18th to the 19th of November.

While in Manila, Carney will “work to finalize” two free trade agreements — one with ASEAN and another with the Philippines. Carney, who is flying in as guest of the chair, is also expected have a bilateral meeting with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Marcos and Carney last met in July this year, during Marcos’ official visit to Vancouver.

The two countries have seen much closer ties under Marcos. During that Vancouver visit, ties were officially elevated to a strategic partnership.

In November 2025, the two countries signed a Status of the Visiting Forces Agreement (SOVFA), a framework to allow their soldiers easier access to each others’ soil for training and disaster response.

Both leaders have also spoken prominently about the need for middle powers to come together — Marcos in 2024 at the Shangri-la Dialogue and Carney in early 2026 at Davos.

In his joint statement with Carney in Vancouver in July 2026, Marcos had noted the importance ove expansion of ties, both bilateral and multilateral in the face of “volatility” that the Philippines experiences “from a much larger base.” – Rappler.com