Canada and Türkiye elevate ties to strategic partnership, plan free trade talks

Prime Minister Mark Carney and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan raised Canada-Türkiye relations to a strategic partnership in Ankara, agreeing to launch free trade negotiations before the end of the year and signing a defense industry memorandum.

Canada and Türkiye elevated their relations to a strategic partnership on Thursday as Prime Minister Mark Carney held talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara, during the first bilateral visit to Türkiye by a Canadian prime minister. Speaking at a joint news conference, Erdoğan said the two sides adopted an action plan with concrete steps in areas including energy, trade, transport and the defense industry.

Erdoğan said the countries agreed to begin negotiations on a free trade agreement before the end of the year and aim to raise bilateral trade, currently around $3 billion, first to $5 billion and then to $10 billion. An updated air transport agreement will nearly double direct flights, and Türk Eximbank and Export Development Canada are set to sign a memorandum on Friday on joint projects in third countries.

The leaders oversaw the signing of a memorandum on defense sector partnerships. Erdoğan said Türkiye hopes the Canada-led Defence, Security and Resilience Bank will support defense industry cooperation, and that a joint declaration between the two energy ministries points to significant potential, including in nuclear energy, mining, LNG and critical minerals.

Erdoğan and Carney shake hands after their joint news conference

Carney thanked his hosts for the warm welcome and said he had honored Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of the Republic of Türkiye, at his mausoleum earlier in the day. He said the old world order is not coming back, described Türkiye as a dynamic partner with NATO's second-largest armed forces and a fast-growing defense industry, and said trade between the two countries is far below its potential.

Carney said the strategic partnership will rest on three pillars, starting with work toward a free trade agreement and closer ties between the two countries' companies, and announced that weekly flights between Canada and Türkiye will increase from 12 to 21. He told Türkiye it can count on Canada as a partner and closed his remarks by citing Atatürk's motto, "Peace at home, peace in the world."

Erdoğan and Carney at the joint news conference