Indo-Pacific strategy launch boosts military spending and visa processing in region
The Liberal government unveiled its long-awaited Indo-Pacific strategy on Sunday, announcing more military spending and closer ties with countries such as India.
The strategy earmarks $2.3 billion for Canada to form closer ties with countries that span Pakistan to Japan, including some funding that the Liberals have announced in recent weeks.
"What you're seeing today is a reorientation of our foreign policy (that) we haven't seen in a long time," Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly told reporters in Vancouver.
"It sends a clear message to the region that Canada is here, and they can trust that we're here to stay."
The new announcements include nearly a half-billion dollars to deploy a third naval frigate to the area and boost collaboration on cybersecurity and military training with like-minded countries.
Canada will also increase its visa-processing capacity to improve a system plagued by delays that has experts fearing that talented youth in the region will move elsewhere.
That includes visa offices in New Delhi and Chandigarh, India as well as Islamabad, Pakistan and Manila, Philippines.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced $92.5 million to create roughly 60 new diplomatic jobs in the region, but the strategy lists no target, and Joly did not specify whether plans have changed around that figure.
But the strategy does call for an expansion of diplomatic staff in existing embassies, as well as new posts in places such as Hawaii and Fiji.
That's on top of recently announced plans to expand on trade ties with southeast Asian countries as a counterweight to China's influence, including by financing infrastructure projects in developing countries.
"To secure this economic future, we need to have strong trading relationships and partners around the world to protect our jobs and businesses here at home," International Trade Minister Mary Ng said at the press conference.
Ottawa will also send 200 experts to advise countries that want to work with Canada on everything from governance to oceans management and the transition off of fossil fuels.
The funding announced Sunday and in recent weeks spans five years, with no benchmarks for the rollout year over year.
But Defence Minister Anita Anand said the military is hoping to add a third frigate to the region "by next year," which would depart Halifax for the Indian Ocean.
That's on top of existing work to uphold United Nations sanctions on North Korea by monitoring for goods being illegally transferred between ships, and sailing around the Taiwan Strait to demonstrate the view of allies that those waters do not belong to China.
Anand said working with countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Singapore represents a shift that goes beyond Canada's naval presence in the region.
"In terms of the allies that we chose to work with here, we want to cast as wide a net as possible to make sure that we are able to co-operate militarily," Anand told reporters from her Toronto-area riding.
She said these plans include projects to boost the role of women in peace and security in those countries.
On trade, Ng said she is hoping to quickly launch new grants for businesses exporting to new markets in the region, and to soon have a concierge service that works with the private sector to spot opportunities for Canadian business.
"I'm going to be very practical about what businesses need," she said in an interview from Vancouver.
She said an uptick in trade missions will be done "in a Team Canada way" via trips that bring along provinces, territories and industry groups.
Ng has made dozens of visits to the region in recent weeks and posted regular updates on trade negotiations. She said what's new in Sunday's strategy is a comprehensive sense of what Ottawa aims to prioritize.
Industry generally agreed with her.
"This type of detailed regional plan is useful, as it not only clarifies Canada's interests it also provides much-needed certainty for Canadian businesses with operations and investments overseas," wrote Goldy Hyder, head of the Business Council of Canada.
Yet he noted the strategy lacked a plan to expedite projects to export more energy along the Pacific coast, as well as a commitment to expand on the planned export of liquefied natural gas to countries that have publicly asked for it.
The council argued Ottawa should next launch a strategy for the Americas, although the Liberals have instead said an Africa strategy is up next.
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce said the Indo-Pacific strategy will help businesses diversify their export markets, but only if Canada gets its own house in order.
"The single largest immediate contribution Canada can make to the Indo-Pacific is to develop a comprehensive strategy to export far greater quantities of food, fuel and fertilizer to the region," wrote CEO Perrin Beatty, citing preliminary talk of expanding railroads and port capacity.
Beatty also praised the security initiatives and plans to engage the "much-underutilized" diaspora groups in Canada.
The strategy did not include a registry of foreign agents. Some intelligence experts have been calling on Canada to follow the U.S. and Australia in compelling countries to register anyone engaging in domestic political activity.
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said the idea remains under consideration.
The strategy was first promised in 2020 and comes after rocky diplomatic relations with China and increasingly loud demands from business leaders and defence experts that Canada map out its plans for the regions.
Sunday's strategy reiterates some funding Trudeau had already announced on his recent trip to Asia, which included cash for more trade missions, a team in Canada and Asia to form energy partnerships, and Canada's first agricultural office in the region.
The strategy generated an instant thumbs-up from U.S. ambassador David Cohen, who said it will help "to advance our countries' shared priorities in the Indo-Pacific region."
Joly made the announcement in Vancouver flanked by Ng, Mendicino, Fisheries Minister Joyce Murray and International Development Minister Harjit Sajjan who also heads Ottawa's economic development agency for B.C.
The Liberals will have bureaucrats explain the details of their strategy Monday in a technical briefing; these events usually take place ahead of a ministerial announcement.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 27, 2022.
IN DEPTH
'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.
Trudeau, key election players to testify at foreign interference hearings. What you need to know
The public hearings portion of the federal inquiry into foreign interference in Canadian elections and democratic institutions are picking back up this week. Here's what you need to know.
Who is supporting, opposing new online harms bill?
Now that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's sweeping online harms legislation is before Parliament, allowing key stakeholders, major platforms, and Canadians with direct personal experience with abuse to dig in and see what's being proposed, reaction is streaming in. CTVNews.ca has rounded up reaction, and here's how Bill C-63 is going over.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
TREND LINE What Nanos' tracking tells us about Canadians' mood, party preference heading into 2024
Heading into a new year, Canadians aren't feeling overly optimistic about the direction the country is heading, with the number of voters indicating negative views about the federal government's performance at the highest in a decade, national tracking from Nanos Research shows.
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
BREAKING Iran fires air defence batteries in provinces as explosions heard near Isfahan
Iran fired air defence batteries early Friday morning as explosions could be heard near a major air base near Isfahan, raising fears of a possible Israeli strike following Tehran's unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on the country.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
Nearly half of China's major cities are sinking, researchers say
Nearly half of China's major cities are suffering 'moderate to severe' levels of subsidence, putting millions at risk of flooding especially as sea levels rise.
Prince Harry formally confirms he is now a U.S. resident
Prince Harry, the son of King Charles III and fifth in line to the British throne, has formally confirmed he is now a U.S. resident.
Judge says 'no evidence fully supports' murder case against Umar Zameer as jury starts deliberations
The judge presiding over the trial of a man accused of fatally running over a Toronto police officer is telling jurors the possible verdicts they may reach based on the evidence in the case.
Health Canada to change sperm donor screening rules for men who have sex with men
Health Canada will change its longstanding policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned. The federal health agency has adopted a revised directive removing the ban on gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, effective May 8.
Colin Jost names one celebrity who is great at hosting 'Saturday Night Live'
Colin Jost, who co-anchors Saturday Night Live's 'Weekend Update,' revealed who he thinks is one of the best hosts on the show.
Sports columnist apologizes for 'oafish' comments directed at Caitlin Clark. The controversy isn't over
A male columnist has apologized for a cringeworthy moment during former University of Iowa superstar and college basketball's highest scorer Caitlin Clark's first news conference as an Indiana Fever player.
'Shopaholic' author Sophie Kinsella reveals brain cancer diagnosis
Sophie Kinsella, the best-selling author behind the 'Shopaholic' book series, has revealed that she is receiving treatment for brain cancer.
Local Spotlight
Cat found on Toronto Pearson airport runway 3 days after going missing
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly on a mission: N.S. student collecting books about women in sport for school library
Molly Knight, a grade four student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Where did the gold go? Crime expert weighs in on unfolding Pearson airport heist investigation
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.
Marmot in the city: New resident of North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale a 'rock star rodent'
When Les Robertson was walking home from the gym in North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale neighbourhood three weeks ago, he did a double take. Standing near a burrow it had dug in a vacant lot near East 1st Street and St. Georges Avenue was a yellow-bellied marmot.
Relocated seal returns to Greater Victoria after 'astonishing' 204-kilometre trek
A moulting seal who was relocated after drawing daily crowds of onlookers in Greater Victoria has made a surprise return, after what officials described as an 'astonishing' six-day journey.
Ottawa barber shop steps away from Parliament Hill marks 100 years in business
Just steps from Parliament Hill is a barber shop that for the last 100 years has catered to everyone from prime ministers to tourists.
'It was a special game': Edmonton pinball player celebrates high score and shout out from game designer
A high score on a Foo Fighters pinball machine has Edmonton player Dave Formenti on a high.
'How much time do we have?': 'Contamination' in Prairie groundwater identified
A compound used to treat sour gas that's been linked to fertility issues in cattle has been found throughout groundwater in the Prairies, according to a new study.
'Why not do it together?': Lifelong friends take part in 'brosectomy' in Vancouver
While many people choose to keep their medical appointments private, four longtime friends decided to undergo vasectomies as a group in B.C.'s Lower Mainland.