Canada launches ‘strategic partnership’ with Turkey aimed at securing free-trade deal
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ANKARA – Canada is forming a “strategic partnership” with Turkey aimed in part at securing a free-trade agreement, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday after a bilateral meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara.
Carney is making the first official bilateral visit by a Canadian prime minister to Turkey.
In a prepared statement delivered alongside Erdogan, Carney said Canadian negotiators will return to Turkey next month to begin negotiations on a free-trade deal.
“Our objectives are clear: more trade and business between our countries to build more prosperity for our people,” Carney said, noting the partnership comes with a three-year action plan and calling Turkey an “exceptional partner.”
“By lowering costs, cutting barriers and creating greater certainty, we will open new doors for Canadian companies.”
The two countries are also signing an air transport agreement which could see the number of flights between Canada and Turkey nearly double, and a new defence partnership which could see Canadian and Turkish companies work more closely together.
In his own remarks, Erdogan said he hopes trade between the two countries will roughly double to $10 billion and said he plans on visiting Canada.
Neither Carney nor Erdogan took questions from reporters Thursday. Carney is expected to speak with Canadian media on Friday in Istanbul.
In a joint statement, the two leaders said they’re also committing to deeper people-to-people ties, something Carney also has sought with the European Union to offer more flexibility to tourists, workers and students.
The statement said Canada and Turkey have shared values, including “human rights, individual liberties, democracy and the rule of law.”
The Erdogan government is under heavy scrutiny internationally right now over reports of official persecution of LGBTQ+ organizers in the country.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2026.
