Photo: President Marcos Jr. meets Prime Minister Carney in Vancouver, July 2026.
Peace Brigades International-Canada is attentive to the implications of a new Canada-Philippines Free Trade Agreement and “defence cooperation” on the safety and security of land and environmental defenders in the Philippines.
Global Witness and the Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment (Kalikasan PNE) have noted: “Since 2012, the Philippines has been ranked as the deadliest country in Asia for people protecting land and the environment… The military has been linked to the highest number of documented killings and detentions of land and environmental defenders in the Philippines over the past decade.”
This coming Saturday November 14, 2026, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will meet with Filipino President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in Manila.
The Connect Media Network reports: “The Philippines plays a key role in Canada’s Indo-Pacific strategy. The importance of the relationship is reflected in the fact that Canada’s embassy in Manila is now its second-largest diplomatic mission worldwide in terms of staffing, after Washington.”
Earlier this week, Radio Canada International reported: “Already, in July, the two countries had signed agreements in Vancouver to strengthen cooperation in the trade, energy, defence and tourism sectors.”
And earlier this month, the Philippine Ambassador to Canada Jose Victor Chan Gonzaga told the Daily Tribune that after talks in Toronto this past September: “Manila and Ottawa are on track to conclude the FTA, which will make it the Philippines’ first bilateral free trade deal with a North American country.”
Now, Guy Saint-Jacques, the former Canadian ambassador to China, tells CBC News: “I think we can expect that there will be a bilateral trade agreement of some kind that will be announced.”
That article adds: “Defence is also on the agenda in the Philippines. Canada has appointed a defence attaché to the region, based in Manila, a sign of the importance it gives to its missions in the area.”
In August 2026, it was announced that Colonel J.M.A.C. Fecteau had been appointed Canadian Defence Attaché to the Philippines. This week Colonel Marc-Antoine Fecteau assumed this post in Manila.
Former Canadian ambassador Saint-Jacques adds: “We know that there will be more military-to-military exchanges.”
This will include Exercise BALIKATAN in April-May 2027 where Canadian Armed Forces are expected to “train shoulder‑to‑shoulder” with members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines during this annual military exercise in the Philippines as they did earlier this year (the day after the Armed Forces of the Philippines killed 19 people, including human rights defenders, in the Toboso Massacre).
Representatives from the Philippines are also expected at CANSEC on June 2-3, 2027, in Ottawa. The promotion highlights this is “where $1B+ in business deals happen every year”. There will then be a “Canada Partnership Pavilion” at the Asian Defense & Security (ADAS) exhibition in Metro Manila on June 28-30, 2027.
We continue to follow this in the context of the safety and security of land and environmental defenders in the Philippines.
Image: Poster for an upcoming SHUT THE PAX DOWN protest. Pax Silica is a US-led initiative to secure the critical mineral and AI supply chain for advanced military equipment and weapons. In May 2026, Canada became a member of the Luzon Economic Corridor initiative. The Pax Silica hub in the Luzon Economic Corridor could affect 1,620 hectares of agricultural and ancestral lands. Communities have reported experiences of military red-tagging when raising concerns about the project.
