Prime Minister Mark Carney leaves Ottawa on Wednesday, after a Remembrance Day ceremony, for a four-stop trip covering summits in Ireland, the Philippines, Cambodia and China. The trip is aimed at advancing Canada's trade and security relationships, and Carney is scheduled to return to Ottawa on Nov. 19.
The first stop is Dublin, where Carney will attend a summit of the European Political Community on Nov. 12. Canada is the only non-European country at the table, a position it holds for the second time; Carney also attended the group's May meeting in Armenia. The EPC has met about every six months since 2022, and this session will cover politics, security and infrastructure. Canada has been floated as a possible "associate member" of the European Union, although the status has not been defined.
From Nov. 15 to 18, Carney will be in Manila as a guest of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, an 11-member bloc focused on trade and regional peace. Two trade deals are due to be finalized there, one covering the ASEAN bloc as a whole and another bilateral agreement with the Philippines. A signing during the visit is possible but not certain. Carney is scheduled to meet President Marcos Jr. on Saturday and address ASEAN leaders on Sunday. Experts note that Canada's level of engagement in the region is still a matter of debate.
Carney will then travel to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, for the Francophonie summit from Nov. 14 to 16. There he will meet leaders from Africa and elsewhere, and speak at a FrancoTech event and in plenary remarks. Canada will host the next summit in 2028, in the Ottawa area. Members will elect the next Francophonie leader, and Ottawa is staying neutral in that contest. Quebec Premier St-Pierre Plamondon is also attending, and no clash between the two is expected.
The final leg is the APEC summit in Shenzhen, China, from Nov. 18 to 19. U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to meet Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin there, a development that European officials have watched with concern given its possible effect on the war in Ukraine. Carney is scheduled to meet Xi on Tuesday and address business leaders the following day. The visit follows a recent arrangement under which China granted market access for Canadian canola meal and lobster, while Canada granted access for Chinese steel and aluminum. Possible announcements on vehicles and investment have not been confirmed.
The trip has drawn political reaction at home. The Conservatives have criticized the deals as yielding little and argue that the government's foreign focus distracts from affordability concerns. The Liberals respond that in-person meetings with leaders are essential to diversifying Canada's trade relationships.
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