Mark Carney and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan launched the Canada-Türkiye Strategic Partnership in Ankara on 22 October, on the first bilateral visit to Turkey by a Canadian prime minister. The deal adds a defence industry agreement 33 months after Canada lifted its ban on military exports to Turkey, and Carney says a Canadian reactor bid now has "good chances".

Prime Minister Mark Carney and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan launched the Canada-Türkiye Strategic Partnership in Ankara on 22 October 2026 with a joint statement and a three-year action plan covering trade, defence, energy and travel. The two governments signed a defence sector agreement, a joint energy statement and an expanded air transport deal, and set the first round of free trade negotiations for 30 November to 4 December in Ankara. Two-way merchandise trade reached C$4.3 billion in 2025, with Canada exporting C$1.1 billion and importing C$3.2 billion. The defence agreement comes 33 months after the federal government lifted the export restrictions it imposed on Turkey in 2019 and 2020.

The agreement

The joint statement sets four pillars: trade, investment and innovation; energy and climate; defence and security; and government and people-to-people ties. It commits the two governments to work toward a free trade agreement and to expand trade in energy supply, defence production, aerospace and artificial intelligence. Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will oversee the action plan, and the two governments will hold an annual Canada-Türkiye Strategic Dialogue alongside existing trade, political-military and counter-terrorism consultations.

The statement also commits both sides to begin a dialogue on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters and extradition, and to co-operate on peace and security in Ukraine, the South Caucasus and the Middle East, "in particular Gaza". Turkey welcomed an invitation for Erdoğan to visit Canada.

"Today, we have alleviated the long-standing Turkey-Canada disconnect," Erdoğan said at the signing. Carney called Turkey "an exceptional partner" and said Canada was building partnerships with reliable partners as it seeks to reduce its dependence on the United States market during its trade dispute with the Trump administration.

Trade and travel

Carney and Erdoğan announced the launch of free trade negotiations in July 2026 on the margins of the NATO summit in Ankara, and public consultations in Canada closed in September. Export Development Canada and Türk Eximbank signed a memorandum on joint projects in third countries. Carney met Turkish business leaders in Istanbul on 23 October and announced a Canadian trade mission to Turkey in 2027, led by the international trade minister.

The expanded Air Transport Agreement raises weekly passenger flights from 12 to as many as 21 for each country, opens all points in each country and allows unlimited all-cargo flights. Bilateral trade has grown by almost 50 per cent since 2020, according to the Prime Minister's Office. In 2010 it stood at about C$1.6 billion, Statistics Canada figures cited by the Globe and Mail show. Canada mainly exports lentils, aircraft and electronics to Turkey and imports medical devices, fishing vessels, aircraft engines and jewellery, Reuters reported.

Defence

Global Affairs Canada and the Secretariat of Defence Industries of the Turkish presidency signed a Defence Sector Partnerships memorandum to expand partnerships between the two countries' defence companies. It builds on a Statement of Intent on Defence Cooperation signed in July, which covers military-to-military dialogue, support for operations and industrial collaboration. The Prime Minister's Office describes Turkey as having NATO's second-largest standing military.

Can Dizdar, Turkey's ambassador to Canada, has named drone technology, aerospace, naval systems, shipbuilding parts, munitions production and vehicles as fields for co-operation, as Canada raises military spending at its fastest pace since the Korean War.

The federal government halted new military export permits to Turkey in October 2019 after Turkish forces moved into northeastern Syria. Marc Garneau, then foreign minister, cancelled permits for L3Harris Wescam drone sensors in April 2021 after a government review found credible evidence that Bayraktar TB2 drones fitted with them had been used in the Nagorno-Karabakh war. Global Affairs Canada lifted its presumptive denial of military exports to Turkey on 29 January 2024, six days after Turkey's parliament ratified Sweden's NATO accession. The 2024 notice required end-use assurances and a Turkish government statement on whether items would be re-exported to a non-NATO country.

Energy and nuclear

Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson and his Turkish counterpart signed a joint statement on liquefied natural gas, civil nuclear power, renewables and critical minerals. Turkey has revised its inflation targets after energy price shocks from the US-Iran war and wants to secure fuel imports, including from Canada, The National reported.

Candu Energy, a subsidiary of AtkinsRéalis, signed a memorandum with the Türkiye Nuclear Energy Company (TÜNAŞ) in March to assess Candu reactors for Turkish sites, including licensing, financing and ownership and the role of Turkish suppliers. Carney said in Istanbul on 23 October that the bid now has "good chances" and that contract decisions rest with the companies. Turkey has also held talks with Korea Electric Power Corporation and China's State Power Investment Corporation on its planned second and third nuclear plants, while Russia's Rosatom builds the first at Akkuyu on the Mediterranean coast.

The law

Section 7.4 of the Export and Import Permits Act bars the foreign minister from issuing a permit for military goods where, after mitigating measures, there is a substantial risk the goods would be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian or human rights law. The text of the Defence Sector Partnerships memorandum and the three-year action plan would show which Canadian and Turkish defence products the two governments intend to link, and Global Affairs Canada's permit assessments for Turkey since 29 January 2024 would show how that test has been applied to them.

Next dates

Turkey hosts the UN climate conference, COP31, in Antalya from 9 to 20 November, where Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin will represent Canada. Canadian and Turkish negotiators open the first free trade round in Ankara on 30 November. The international trade minister leads a trade mission to Turkey in 2027.