Canada-ASEAN Business Council welcomes conclusion of ASEAN-Canada and Canada-Philippines free trade negotiations

MANILA, the Philippines, November 14, 2026 – The Canada-ASEAN Business Council (CABC) welcomes today's announcement that Canada and ASEAN have substantially concluded negotiations on the ASEAN-Canada Free Trade Agreement, and that Canada and the Philippines have concluded negotiations on a bilateral free trade agreement. It is the first time Canada has concluded two free trade agreements at once. The ASEAN-Canada agreement is Canada's first with ASEAN as a bloc, and the largest trade agreement concluded by this government, opening a market of nearly 700 million people to Canadian businesses. Both agreements follow the Canada-Indonesia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, which comes into force on December 1.

Canada-ASEAN trade reached $52.5 billion in 2025, up almost 24 per cent in a single year, without a trade agreement in place. With a successful trade agreement now finalized, Canadian businesses and exporters will now have even more opportunity and certainty to grow into the region. Budget 2026 set the goal of doubling Canada's exports to markets beyond the United States by 2035. Today, we move closer to that goal.

"Budget 2026 said diversify. In Manila, Canada did," said Wayne Farmer, President, Canada-ASEAN Business Council. "For years, Canadian businesses have navigated a maze of different rules across Southeast Asia. This agreement replaces it with one predictable set of rules, and that matters most for the small and medium-sized businesses that don't have the lawyers and local offices of the big exporters."

The Canada-Philippines agreement is the Philippines' first free trade agreement with a North American country, giving Canadian businesses an early foothold in one of Southeast Asia's fastest-growing economies. CABC thanks the Philippines, as ASEAN chair, for its leadership in carrying both agreements over the line.

CABC congratulates negotiators on both sides and calls on all parties to finalize the legal text and sign and ratify both agreements quickly, so Canadian businesses can begin to benefit as Canada and ASEAN mark 50 years of dialogue relations in 2027.

"Agreements don't do business; companies do," said Meghan Pritchard, Executive Director, Canada-ASEAN Business Council. "Our job now is to turn these agreements into deals, matching Canadian firms with ASEAN partners and giving business leaders a direct voice through our new CEO Advisory Forum."