Canada

Canada is a peripheral partner for Southeast Asia, generally ranking between 17th and 20th in terms of overall influence. Its influence is higher in the Philippines, due to close people connections driven by the Filipino diaspora in Canada, and Singapore, a result of relatively strong Canadian investment and more substantial defence cooperation with these countries than others in the region. Canada’s overall engagement has modestly increased since 2017, likely because of its decision to prioritise relations with Southeast Asia as part of its Indo-Pacific strategy.