Canada, Turkey announce strategic partnership to deepen energy, defence and trade ties

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a strategic partnership with Turkey that will deepen co-operation in defence, energy and joint ventures with the country of 87 million.

Mr. Carney stood with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Bestepe Presidential Complex in Ankara to unveil a three-year action plan the two leaders said will “fundamentally deepen and elevate” relations between Canada and Turkey including “expanding political dialogue,” trade, technological development and common security.

Turkey is the latest stop in the Prime Minister’s drive to reduce reliance on the increasingly protectionist and unpredictable United States under Donald Trump – a challenge Mr. Carney indirectly referenced Thursday when he said Canada these days is seeking “reliable partners.”

The Canadian pact also provides legitimacy to Mr. Erdogan, who critics say is responsible for Turkey’s democratic backsliding into an autocracy. The U.S. watchdog Freedom House scores Turkey as 32/100 on its civil liberties index, or “not free,” saying the President and his party “have become increasingly authoritarian in recent years, consolidating significant power through constitutional changes and by imprisoning opponents and critics.”

The Prime Minister announced that Export Development Canada, which helps finance and insure Canadian exporters, will sign an agreement with counterpart Turk Eximbank to help companies in both countries undertake joint ventures in foreign markets. The focus will be on energy, mining and critical minerals, infrastructure and transportation, Mr. Carney said.

The two leaders said an air transport agreement being finalized will raise the allowable volume of weekly passenger flights between Canada and Turkey to 21 from 12, with no limit on cargo flights.

Mr. Carney and Mr. Erdogan said negotiations toward a free trade agreement, first announced in July, will begin next month.

The Prime Minister announced International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu will lead a trade mission to Turkey in 2027.

Mr. Carney is the first prime minister to make a bilateral trip to Turkey, purely to advance Turkey-Canada relations.

Mr. Carney arrived at the Turkish presidential complex Thursday afternoon where he was greeted with the firing of military cannons. The Prime Minister was welcome by Mr. Erdogan and then he stopped at a microphone to address members of a military band, saying “merhaba asker,” which loosely translates to “hello, soldiers.”

The Prime Minister, accompanied by Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson, spoke of his desire to sell CANDU nuclear reactors, critical minerals and liquefied natural gas to Turkey. Mr. Carney said Mr. Hodgson and his Turkish counterpart have agreed to work together to advance collaboration across the energy sector, including LNG, civil nuclear energy, renewable energy and critical energy infrastructure.

“Canada is on its way to becoming an energy superpower. Turkey’s economy is growing rapidly and needs a secure and reliable energy supply. We have much to offer: from LNG and civilian nuclear technology to clean energy and the critical minerals that will be at the heart of tomorrow’s economy,” Mr. Carney said.

He lauded a recent defence industry partnership deal with Turkey that will “connect Canadian and Turkish companies to work together, creating good jobs at home, export opportunities abroad and a stronger NATO alliance.”

Turkey’s ambassador to Canada, Can Dizdar, has said Turkey and Canada could deepen co-operation in drone technology, aerospace, naval systems, shipbuilding parts, munitions production and vehicles. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute ranked Turkey as the 11th largest arms exporter in the world for the period 2021-2025.

Before meeting with Mr. Ergodan, the Prime Minister on Thursday morning laid a wreath at the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, a massive stone commemoration of the founder of modern Turkey. Ataturk is remembered in part for transforming Turkey into a secular, pro-Western country and laying the foundations for its transition to democracy.

Critics say that Mr. Erdogan, in contrast, introduced religion back into public life, and while he has brought great prosperity to Turkey over his more than two decades in power, is also responsible for the country’s illiberal turn in recent years.

In recent months Turkey has taken over a pro-opposition media outlet, raided LGBTQ groups and convicted a stand-up comic of insulting the country’s President.

This four-day trip is another demonstration of Mr. Carney’s pivot to what he has called “values-based realism” foreign policy – which the Prime Minister has explained means no more “lecturing from afar” if Canada disagrees with another country’s conduct.

“Engagement does not mean endorsement,” is Mr. Carney’s maxim.