Ambassador Rodolfo D. Robles led the discussion on labor and migration at the recently concluded 5th Meeting of the Philippines-Canada Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation, the bi-annual high-level discussion between Manila and Ottawa.

The Philippine delegation to the virtual meeting was led by Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Elizabeth Buensuceso while the Canadian side was led by Assistant Deputy Foreign Minister Paul Thoppil.  In addition to Ambassador Robles, the Philippine delegation was composed of senior officials from foreign affairs, civil defense, law enforcement, agriculture, economic development, trade, science and technology, and education agencies.

The Filipino diaspora in Canada is the second largest after Filipino-Americans in the United States and is estimated to have reached 940,883 at the end of 2019 based on immigration data.