As ASEAN Summit wraps, Trudeau says Canada needs to keep showing up in Southeast Asia
Canada needs to keep up its presence in Southeast Asia if it wants to benefit from the region's economic boom, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday as he wrapped up his visit to Laos.
Trudeau participated in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit this week, marking the third consecutive time he's attended the annual meeting.
The prime minister said pursuing bonds with ASEAN members is not about political ideology or leaving a government footprint, but rather it's about acknowledging the economic opportunities in the region.
But to benefit from what Southeast Asia has to offer, Trudeau said Canadians need to make their presence felt in the region.
"That's really a big piece of the challenge, making sure that we are showing up," Trudeau said in a news conference on Friday.
"Showing up as leader, yes, but more importantly, showing up as businesses on trade missions, building those connections, making the investments in more maritime security presence and defence presence, making more investments in upgrading embassies and opening trade offices."
Trudeau announced during the visit that Canada is upgrading its diplomatic missions in Vientiane, Laos, and Phnom Penh, Cambodia to full embassies.
He also announced a $128-million package of funding at the summit, with the majority of the money going toward environmental protection and combating climate change.
The visit to Laos comes as Canada works toward a free-trade deal with the 10-nation bloc and a separate deal with Indonesia, which both countries are aiming to sign by the end of the year.
ASEAN countries together represented Canada's fourth-largest trading partner last year, and trade with the region has nearly doubled since 2015.
The visit also builds on the Liberal government's Indo-Pacific strategy, which set out a road map to strengthen military and economic relationships in the region and counterbalance the influence of China.
Canada's efforts are part of a larger Western push for stronger economic and political relationships with southeast Asian countries, largely to reduce reliance on Chinese goods.
Countries in the region have their own concerns related to China, including ongoing disputes over the South China Sea.
The ASEAN summit followed a series of violent confrontations at sea between China and ASEAN members Philippines and Vietnam, which have fuelled concerns that China's assertive actions could spiral into a full-scale conflict.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told southeast Asian leaders at the summit on Friday that the U.S. is concerned about China's "increasingly dangerous and unlawful" activities, and pledged the U.S. will continue to uphold freedom of navigation in the vital sea trade route.
When asked about the escalation, Trudeau said Canada wants to see international law respected.
"These are things that we abide by — and not just stand by on paper, but we demonstrate that every time we send a Coast Guard vessel or a military (Canadian Armed Forces) ship through the South China Sea. It is international waters and needs to be open for all navigation," he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2024.
With files from The Associated Press.
IN DEPTH
Jagmeet Singh pulls NDP out of deal with Trudeau Liberals, takes aim at Poilievre Conservatives
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has pulled his party out of the supply-and-confidence agreement that had been helping keep Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority Liberals in power.
'Not the result we wanted': Trudeau responds after surprise Conservative byelection win in Liberal stronghold
Conservative candidate Don Stewart winning the closely-watched Toronto-St. Paul's federal byelection, and delivering a stunning upset to Justin Trudeau's candidate Leslie Church in the long-time Liberal riding, has sent political shockwaves through both parties.
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bloc won't hold Liberals 'hostage' over seniors' benefits: cabinet minister
Liberal cabinet minister Steven Guilbeault says the Liberals will not be 'held hostage' by the Bloc Quebecois' demand to expand Old Age Security to more seniors.
Toronto police have identified the woman who was allegedly killed by a suspected serial killer earlier this month.
Missing father, kids spotted in New Zealand wilderness 3 years after disappearance: police
A New Zealand man who disappeared with his three children in 2021 was spotted on a farm along the country's northwest coast, police say.
A man who stabbed a senior to death in Vancouver's Biltmore Hotel building in 2020 has been given a conditional sentence for the killing, meaning he will not serve any jail time if he remains on good behaviour in the community.
Job growth numbers 'good news' in Canada but there are concerns, according to an economist
An economist says the latest job growth numbers in Canada are 'good news,' but he has concerns following Statistic Canada's report.
More than a month after the murder of Nova Scotia woman Esther Jones, her family continues to grapple with the loss.
Hot-air balloon strikes and collapses radio tower in Albuquerque during festival
A hot-air balloon struck and collapsed a radio tower Friday in Albuquerque, New Mexico, during the city's famous festival -- the second time in 20 years that a balloon has come into contact with the tower.
British Columbia billionaire Chip Wilson has put up yet another billboard message to voters, his third post outside his multimillion-dollar mansion in NDP Leader David Eby's own riding.
A woman from Montreal's South Shore appeared in court on Friday on charges of aggravated assault after allegedly scalding a 10-year-old boy with boiling water more than one week ago.
Local Spotlight
There was an eye-catching mix of rainbows and lightning over Vancouver following a brief downpour this week.
Jeff Warner from Aidie Creek Gardens in the northern Ontario community of Englehart has a passion for growing big pumpkins and his effort is paying off in more ways than one.
Saskatchewan’s Jessica Campbell has made hockey history, becoming the first ever female assistant coach in the National Hockey League (NHL).
Have you ever seen videos of hovercrafts online or on TV and thought, 'Wow, I wish I could ride one of those.' One Alberta man did, and then built his own.
A B.C. couple is getting desperate – and creative – in their search for their missing dog.
Videos of a meteor streaking across the skies of southern Ontario have surfaced and small bits of the outer space rock may have made it to land, one astronomy professor says.
A unique form of clouds made an appearance over the skies of Ottawa on Sunday evening.
Bernie Hicks, known as the ‘Batman of Amherst,’ always wanted to sit in a Batmobile until a kind stranger made it happen.
Bubi’s Awesome Eats, located on University Ave West took to social media to announce the closure on Friday.