Canada and Malaysia have signed a letter of intent to "deepen investment" in liquified natural gas (LNG), oil, nuclear and renewable energy, Canadian prime minister Mark Carney said from Kuala Lumpur today.
Carney attended the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Malaysia and will soon be en route to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Busan, South Korea, to deepen trade ties abroad, with energy on the table.
By 2030, "Canada can produce nearly 50mn tonnes of LNG each year, enough to supply Singapore, where I'm going tomorrow, five times over," said Carney on Monday. "We can double that production again by 2040."
Carney met with Malaysian state-controlled Petronas' chief executive Tengku Muhammad Taufik, whose company holds a 25pc interest in LNG Canada's 14mn t/yr export terminal on Canada's west coast. A second phase of equal size is being contemplated, and the Canadian government has promised to help fast-track the project that is awaiting a positive final investment decision. Shell, PetroChina, Mitsubishi and KOGAS are also involved in the project.
If built, the second phase would create the second-largest LNG project in the world, according to Carney.
Carney is in Asia to stimulate trade and decouple Canada's economy from the US. The stakes continue to be high for the resource-rich, but overly US-dependent country whose historical trade ties have recently become a vulnerability, rather than a strength.
Canada had made "considerable" progress in trade talks with US president Donald Trump in recent weeks, before Trump called off negotiations on 23 October over an anti-tariff advertisement paid for by the government of Ontario. Canada is willing to pick up on the progress achieved to-date, but is turning to other, willing partners, including those in Asia.
"In any complicated, high stakes negotiation you can get unexpected twists and turns, and you have to keep your cool during those situations," said Carney. "It doesn't pay to be upset. Emotions don't carry you very far."
While at the ASEAN summit, Carney and Philippines president Ferdinand Marcos Jr. also signed a letter of intent to "imminently launch" negotiations on a new free trade agreement between the two countries.
Canada and ASEAN are planning to reach a free trade agreement in 2026, according to a readout from the prime minister's office.
Canada in September struck a trade deal with Indonesia, Canada's first deal with an ASEAN country, which will come into force in 2026. The deal will mean 95pc of existing Canadian exports to the Southeast Asian country will have tariffs "either reduced or fully eliminated".
Carney said he and Chinese president Xi Jinping will meet at the APEC forum in South Korea this week. China is Canada's second-largest trade partner, but the relationship had cooled over the course of former prime minister Justin Trudeau's tenure.
"This is the difference between relationship and transaction," Carney said of his upcoming meeting with Xi. "We're starting (a) relationship, building up the relationship."
