Carney cites Atatürk, recalls maple saplings Canada sent to Anıtkabir 70 years ago

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney closed his remarks in Ankara by citing Atatürk's motto "Peace at home, peace in the world" and recalling the maple saplings Canada sent to Anıtkabir more than 70 years ago as a token of friendship.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney closed his remarks at a joint news conference with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara by paying tribute to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of the Republic of Türkiye, and recalling a decades-old gesture of friendship between the two countries.

Carney said that at a time when one world order was ending, Atatürk built a secure and sovereign nation guided by the principle "Peace at home, peace in the world," and that Canada respects that example today: strength at home and partnership abroad.

He noted that more than 70 years ago Canada sent maple saplings to be planted at and around Anıtkabir, Atatürk's mausoleum, as a symbol of peace and friendship between the two nations. Those trees, he said, now stand alongside some 48,000 trees from more than 25 countries.

Prime Minister Mark Carney and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara

Carney said the two leaders had planted the seeds of something new that would create opportunities for workers and businesses, and that the partnership, tended with care and determination, would keep growing for generations. He visited Anıtkabir and laid a wreath earlier in the day, on the first bilateral visit to Türkiye by a Canadian prime minister.