South Korea president Yoon seeks more Canada trade as China looms over Ottawa visit
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol says Canada is a natural match for boosting the production of electric vehicles, as both countries try to contain the risk of a more aggressive China.
On his one-day visit to Ottawa Friday, the president praised Canada's natural resources and research into artificial intelligence, saying they could complement his country's work in digital technology and semiconductors.
“If we co-operate in this area, (Korea's) digital and data technology and Canada's A.I. technology can work together, I think, and in synergy,” Yoon said in Korean during a press conference on Parliament Hill.
Yoon already met this month with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the queen's funeral in London and at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. From there, he had short flights for his one-day visits to Toronto and Ottawa.
Butanalysts saidYoon's visit was more than a matter of convenience, noting it was his first formal bilateral visit since he took office in March.
Robert Huish, an international development professor at Dalhousie University, said Canadians often don't realize how deep their cultural and economic ties have been with South Korea for decades.
“Canada sometimes forgets that it is a Pacific nation, and it's very much committed to engaging in the South Korean market,” said Huish, who researches security in the Korean Peninsula.
“Going forward, there is a want to make that stronger.”
Huish said planeloads of Nova Scotia seafood used to arrive in South Korea multiple times a week before the COVID-19 pandemic and a network of Canada-Korea friendship groups has fostered strong industrial links.
“Canada is finding itself as a very strategic market to South Korea, from seafood exports to now getting into electric-vehicle components.”
Both could be on the agenda next month when Foreign Minister Melanie Joly and Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne will be among a delegation heading to Seoul.
Yoon also thanked Canada for its support in containing the threat posed by North Korea.
Canada recently deployed a frigate as part of an ongoing, multinational surveillance operation that tracks whether the Communist regime is trying to evade sanctions. That includes monitoring for ships transferring fuel or commodities.
Friday's meeting comes after months of anticipation for Canada's Indo-Pacific strategy, a document that industry groups hope will clarify which countries Ottawa wants to grow closer to, and which countries should be lower priorities due to trade barriers or human-rights concerns.
Countries like Britain and France have already published such documents, and the Liberals promised Canada would outline its Indo-Pacific strategy months ago. On Friday, Trudeau pointed out twice that South Korea is also working on its own strategy for the region.
Also Friday, Trudeau announced Canada's ambassador to China, a post that had been left vacant since last December.
He has tasked Jennifer May, a career diplomat with three decades of experience in foreign service, with advancing both trade and democratic values.
“China is certainly a real challenging actor in the region,” Trudeau said Friday. “A nuanced approach that is looking out for the interests of Canadians, the interests of citizens across our democracies, is essential.
“For too long, China and other autocracies have been able to play off neighbours and friends against each other, by offering bits of access to their market.”
At multiple points in his visit, Yoon mentioned Canada's sacrifice in the Korean War, including after laying a wreath at the National War Memorial.
Earlier in the day, during a visit to Trudeau's office in the West Block, Yoon praised his policies and support for multiculturalism.
“You are such an attractive leader; you brought unity to Canadian society,” a translator for Yoon said in English.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 23, 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
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with big bipartisan vote
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
Wildfire southwest of Peace River spurs evacuation order
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Train derailed in Sarnia after colliding with a truck
Police are investigating after a transport truck collided with a train in Sarnia.
Fewer medical students going into family medicine contributing to doctor shortage
As some family doctors are retiring and others are moving away from family medicine, there are fewer medical students to take their place.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Local Spotlight
Mystery surrounds giant custom Canucks jerseys worn by Lions Gate Bridge statues
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
'I'm committed': Oilers fan won't cut hair until Stanley Cup comes to Edmonton
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
'It's not my father's body!' Wrong man sent home after death on family vacation in Cuba
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
'Once is too many times': Education assistants facing rising violence in classrooms
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
What is capital gains tax? How is it going to affect the economy and the younger generations?
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
UBC football star turning heads in lead up to NFL draft
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Cat found at Pearson airport 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 4 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.