Canada and Turkey launch strategic partnership to expand trade and defence ties

Explainer

Prime Minister Mark Carney and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced a strategic partnership on Thursday aimed at deepening co-operation in defence, energy and trade.

"Today, we have overcome the disconnect that had persisted between Türkiye and Canada for many years," Erdogan said at a joint news conference in Ankara.

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"Now we are launching a new era."

Carney said Canada is seeking "reliable partners" and praised Turkey as an "exceptional" partner.

"Our goal isn’t self-sufficiency. It is collective resilience," Carney said.

"That’s why Canada is building deeper partnerships with reliable partners that create new opportunities for Canadians."

What does the partnership include?

The partnership has four pillars: trade and investment, defence and security, energy, and people-to-people ties.

The two leaders said negotiations toward a free trade agreement, first announced in July, will begin next month.

They also announced that Export Development Canada will sign an agreement with Turk Eximbank to help companies in both countries undertake joint ventures in foreign markets, with a focus on energy, mining, critical minerals, infrastructure and transportation.

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.

Erdogan said he hopes trade between the two countries will roughly double to $10 billion.

What is the defence industry component?

The two countries signed a memorandum of understanding on defence industry partnerships.

Carney lauded the deal that will "connect Canadian and Turkish companies to work together, creating good jobs at home, export opportunities abroad and a stronger NATO alliance."

Erdogan said the two NATO allies aimed to develop new projects in defence and expected the Canadian-led Defence, Security and Resilience Bank, being established to finance allied defense industries, to support joint efforts.

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.

Two senior officials said this could include tapping Turkey’s military drone prowess, and technology transfers or joint ventures.

What about energy and nuclear co-operation?

Carney spoke of his desire to sell Candu nuclear reactors, critical minerals and liquefied natural gas to Turkey.

He said Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson and his Turkish counterpart have agreed to work together to advance collaboration across the energy sector, including liquefied natural gas, 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," Carney said.

Erdogan said Turkey and Canada were maintaining close contact on nuclear energy, and that cooperation could extend from mining and liquefied natural gas to critical minerals and nuclear power.

Turkey aims to expand its energy capacity significantly in the coming decades, planning to add roughly 20 gigawatts of nuclear power by 2050.

How have relations between the two countries changed?

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

The visit comes after a period of strained ties. Relations entered a deep freeze more than five years ago when Ottawa restricted arms exports to Turkey.

"We had some kind of disconnect for a period but today we put an end to it," Erdogan said.

Trade between the two countries has grown steadily in the past 15 years, but with gains mostly in Turkey’s favour. In 2010, two-way trade was about $1.6 billion. By 2025 that had grown to $4.3 billion, with Canada exporting $1.1 billion to Turkey and importing $3.2 billion.

Before meeting with Erdogan, Carney laid a wreath at the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey.

The visit comes as human rights groups raise the alarm over Turkey's sweeping crackdown last month on dissent and civil society groups, including the dismantling of 2SLGBTQ+ and HIV-advocacy organizations.

Asked whether the Canadian delegation raised human rights with Turkey, the Prime Minister’s Office said Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand "raised the importance of the respect for human rights" in a meeting with her Turkish counterpart.

Erdogan said he and Carney also discussed regional and global developments, including Gaza, the war in Ukraine and tensions in the Gulf region.

He welcomed Canada's sanctions targeting illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, describing the measures as appropriate steps.

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

With files from The Canadian Press, The Globe and Mail and CBC News