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
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.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
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.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
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
What is whooping cough and should Canadians be concerned as Europe declares outbreak?
There is currently a whooping cough epidemic in Europe, with 10 times as many cases compared to the previous two years. While an outbreak has not been declared nationwide in Canada, whooping cough is regularly detected in the country.
Ontario Provincial Police arrest 64 suspects in child sexual exploitation investigation
Ontario Provincial Police say 64 suspects are facing a combined 348 charges in connection with a series of child sexual exploitation investigations that spanned the province.
AstraZeneca says it will withdraw COVID-19 vaccine globally as demand dips
AstraZeneca said on Tuesday it had initiated the worldwide withdrawal of its COVID-19 vaccine due to a 'surplus of available updated vaccines' since the pandemic.
'Summer of discontent': Federal unions vow to fight new 3-day a week office mandate
Federal unions are launching legal challenges and encouraging public sector workers to file "tens of thousands" of grievances over the new mandate requiring federal workers to return to the office at least three days a week in the fall.
Watch fighter jet pilots pummel fake enemy ship off coast of Philippines
The United States and Philippines held annual joint-training drills just off the Southeast Asian nation’s western coast on Wednesday. Military forces sunk a 'mock' enemy warship – the BRP Lake Caliraya, which was a decommissioned tanker made in China.
'Ozempic babies': Reports of surprise pregnancies raise new questions about weight loss drugs
Numerous women have shared stories of 'Ozempic babies' on social media. But the joy some experience in discovering pregnancies may come with anxiety about the unknowns.
OPINION What King Charles' schedule being too 'full' to accommodate son suggests
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has made headlines with his recent arrival in the U.K., this time to celebrate all things Invictus. But upon the prince landing in the U.K., we have already had confirmation that King Charles III won't have time to see his youngest son during his brief visit.
'I killed four people': Trial hears video evidence of Jeremy Skibicki at Winnipeg trial
“I killed four people,” alleged serial killer Jeremy Skibicki told two homicide detectives during a recorded interview played as evidence in his trial Wednesday.
Seafood, eat food: Calgary Stampede releases Midway menu
The Calgary Stampede has released its menu of sweet, salty and spicy treats available on the Midway for the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth.
Local Spotlight
Mother collecting helmets for Manitoba First Nations to honour daughter’s legacy
A grieving mother is hosting a helmet drive in the hopes of protecting children on Manitoba First Nations from a similar tragedy that killed her daughter.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
P.E.I. lighthouse, N.B. river spotlighted in Canada Post series
A P.E.I. lighthouse and a New Brunswick river are being honoured in a Canada Post series.
'It looked so legit': Ontario man pays $7,700 for luxury villa found on Booking.com, but the listing was fake
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
Investigating the tale of Winnipeg's long-running mystery bookstore
Whether passionate about Poirot or hungry for Holmes, Winnipeg mystery obsessives have had a local haunt for over 30 years in which to search out their latest page-turners.
'Love has no boundaries': Sask. couple in their 90s and 80s get married
Eighty-two-year-old Susan Neufeldt and 90-year-old Ulrich Richter are no spring chickens, but their love blossomed over the weekend with their wedding at Pine View Manor just outside of Rosthern.
Twin Alberta Ballet dancers retire after 15 years with company
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
Video shows gaggle of geese stopping traffic on Highway 1 near Vancouver
A mother goose and her goslings caused a bit of a traffic jam on a busy stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway near Vancouver Saturday.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.