PH-Canada business deal sealed to drive investments

Ruth Abbey Gita-Carlos, Philippine News Agency
July 4, 2026

(Photo courtesy: Bongbong Marcos/Facebook)

VANCOUVER – The Philippines and Canada on Friday (Canada time) signed a business deal aimed at attracting investments and driving economic development.

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Business Council of Canada at Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel here.

The agreement was signed as the two countries elevated their bilateral relations to a strategic partnership.

“I was pleased to witness the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Business Council of Canada,” Marcos said in a Facebook post.

“As our Strategic Partnership grows, so too will the relationships that connect our entrepreneurs, innovators and industries.”

In a separate statement, the Presidential Communications Office said the collaboration is expected to foster mutual growth by leveraging the complementary strengthens of the two countries’ industries and enhancing cooperation between their private sectors.

Open for business

During a roundtable discussion on mining, critical minerals and energy, Marcos expressed the Philippines’ readiness to welcome investments and forge partnerships that promote long-term, sustainable growth.

“As we continue to strengthen our economic ties, we look forward to working with Canadian partners in transforming opportunity into tangible investments, innovation, and shared progress,” Marcos said.

Marcos said the Philippines aims to become an active contributor to priority sectors by building secure supply chains, strengthening industrial competitive industries and developing future-ready economies.

He added that his administration is prioritizing high-potential sectors, particularly mining, including nickel extraction and the export of raw ore, which present big opportunity to move up the value chain.

Marcos said the shared vision of a robust digital economy would be further be realized, once the proposed Philippine-Canada Free Trade Agreement is finalized, saying the plan to conclude talks within the year would be a historic milestone as Manila seals its first-ever bilateral trade pact with a North American partner.

He said the landmark agreement is expected to boost bilateral trade, encourage strategic investments, and strengthen economic cooperation by providing a stable and predictable framework to expanding digital partnerships.

Key driver to growth

Marcos also highlighted the country’s information technology and business process management (IT-BPM), saying it has evolved from a back-office support sector into a key driver of innovation, productivity and global value creation.

“Customer experience, analytics, cybersecurity, financial service support, healthcare information management and digital operations are now central to how global enterprises compete and how they grow,” he said.

“This transformation is already evident in our engagement with Canadian companies,” Marcos added.

Marcos cited the strong presence of Canadian firms in the Philippine IT-BPM landscape, supporting customer experience, insurance and financial services, enterprise software, software as a service, consulting and next generation digital operations.

Among the participating companies at the roundtable discussion were Blackberry, CGI, Everise, ManuLife, OpenText, NQX, Sun Life, Telus Corp. and InTouchCX.

This article has been republished from PNA.