The Manila Overseas Press Club and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce held the “Filipino-Canadian Night†at the Manila Golf and Country Club with Canadian Ambassador Neil Reeder as guest speaker. In the last 65 years, bilateral ties between the Philippines and Canada have grown even stronger, with more Filipinos choosing to work and live in Canada. In fact, there is now an estimated 800,000 Filipino-Canadians in this North American nation, comprising about three percent of the 35 million total population.
Canada’s diplomatic mission in Manila is one of the largest – which speaks volumes of the level of Canada’s interest as well as engagement in the Philippines. As Ambassador Reeder noted, Canada is committed to be an active partner of the Philippines in advancing relations in the area of politics, trade, investment, development and people-to-people relations.
When typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) ravaged Leyte, Cebu and other areas in the Visayas, individual Canadians donated over $85 million to help the survivors, with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper announcing that his government will match the generous donations.
While the economies of many nations in the West have crashed on account of the global financial crisis, Canada’s economy has remained strong, its banking system proclaimed as one of the healthiest in the world. It has been supportive of efforts to help the Philippines strengthen its investment climate and is actively working to increase the capacity of the government and NGOs to uplift the economic situation of poor Filipinos.
Photos by Ramon Joseph J. Ruiz