Prime Minister Mark Carney began a delicate political and economic balancing act on Thursday as he and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan unveiled a strategic partnership designed to boost trade and defense cooperation between their countries.
The agreement marks the latest sign of improving relations between Canada and Turkey. It is also a key part of Carney’s broader strategy of working more closely with other middle powers.
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Speaking at a joint appearance at Ankara’s vast presidential complex, Carney called Turkey an “exceptional” partner. He said no nation becomes strong on its own and that the most resilient countries combine their strengths with trusted allies. Canada’s aim, he explained, is not self-sufficiency but collective resilience, which is why it is forging deeper relationships with reliable partners that open new opportunities for Canadians.
Erdogan said the agreements open a new chapter between the two countries. He acknowledged that, despite formal diplomatic relations, there had been a long-standing disconnect, and said Thursday’s announcement brings that period to a close and launches “a new era for Turkey and Canada.” He also said he intends to visit Canada with a business delegation, though he did not give a date.
Four pillars
The partnership rests on four areas:
- trade and investment,
- defense and security,
- energy, and
- people-to-people ties.
The first round of free trade negotiations is set to take place in Ankara in November. The deal also includes a new defense industry cooperation agreement meant to strengthen links between Canadian and Turkish companies.
In addition, the partnership is expected to open the door to investment in energy and critical minerals. The two countries will also complete an air transport agreement that will increase the number of passenger flights between them.
Human rights concerns
The trip is the first bilateral visit to Turkey by a Canadian prime minister. It comes as human rights groups voice alarm over a sweeping crackdown by Turkish authorities last month on dissent and civil society, including the shutdown of LGBTQ+ and HIV advocacy groups.
Energy Minister Tim Hodgson, who is accompanying Carney for talks with Turkish officials, said before the trip that the prime minister has made clear Canada must deal with the world as it is, not as it would like it to be. He added that disagreements are raised privately.
Carney has been working to diversify Canada’s trade and reduce its reliance on the United States. So far, much of that effort has focused on Europe and the Indo-Pacific.
Thomas Juneau, a Middle East expert at the University of Ottawa, said Turkey’s NATO membership and expanding defense industry make it an important partner for both trade and military production. In his view, the Carney government appears to have decided not to limit its diversification push to democracies or countries with strong human rights records.
Turkey has grown increasingly authoritarian under Erdogan, who has served as president since 2014. Juneau described the situation as a difficult moral dilemma for Canada, but said the government seems to have concluded that partnering only with democracies would sharply limit how much it could achieve.
Visit to Atatürk’s mausoleum
Shortly after arriving in Ankara on Thursday, Carney visited Anitkabir, the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder and first president of the Republic of Turkey. The well-kept site covers about 750,000 square meters and includes the Monument Block and the Peace Park, which is home to tens of thousands of trees and plants, among them Canadian maples. Carney laid a wreath at the monument.
Nuclear ambitions
Turkey plans to greatly expand its energy capacity in the coming decades, including adding about 20 gigawatts of nuclear power by 2050.
Canada and Turkey are reportedly preparing to create a working group to assess whether Canada’s Candu nuclear team could bid to build Turkey’s planned second or third nuclear power plant. Asked about this before the trip, Hodgson declined to get ahead of the prime minister and told reporters to stay tuned.
Calls for scrutiny
Sevag Belian, executive director of the Armenian National Committee of Canada, said any nuclear agreement with Turkey should be closely examined.
He noted a past dispute between the two countries that led Canada to impose a de facto arms embargo on Turkey. Most of those restrictions were lifted in 2024, after Erdogan made their removal a condition for supporting Sweden’s NATO membership during the Trudeau government.
The dispute began in 2020, when Turkish authorities sought an exemption to import Wescam targeting equipment used in Turkey’s Bayraktar drones. According to Belian, disclosed documents show Turkey said the cameras would be used for reconnaissance tied to NATO operations in northern Syria. Instead, he said, they were illegally diverted to Azerbaijan and used in the Nagorno-Karabakh war. Belian said a parliamentary investigation established that Turkey had clearly lied.