Canada and Turkiye have elevated their relationship to a full strategic partnership during Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first official visit to Ankara. The move forms part of Carney’s broader effort to reduce Canada’s heavy economic dependence on the United States.
The agreement signed on Thursday covers trade and investment, defence and security, energy, and diplomatic ties. Both sides aim to create more jobs and business opportunities for companies in the two countries. Canadian and Turkish ministers also signed separate cooperation deals on energy, defence and air transport during the ceremony at the presidential palace.
Carney described the partnership as planting seeds for long-term growth. He said it would deliver greater security and prosperity for both peoples. Standing beside Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, the Canadian leader outlined a three-year action plan built on four main pillars.
Erdogan welcomed the new chapter and praised Carney’s approach to global affairs. He said the long-standing disconnect between the two countries had been overcome and that a fresh era had begun. The Turkish president set an ambitious target of raising bilateral trade from the current three billion dollars first to five billion and eventually to ten billion dollars.
Free-trade negotiations are scheduled to begin next month in Ankara. Export Development Canada and Turkiye’s Eximbank will also sign an agreement to support joint projects in third countries. In the energy sector the two nations plan closer work on nuclear power, critical minerals and liquefied natural gas.
The visit marks a clear thaw after years of cooler relations caused by Canadian concerns over human rights and an earlier weapons embargo. Canada lifted most of those export controls in 2024. Trade between the two countries remains small by global standards, yet it has grown by nearly 50 percent over the past five years.
Carney’s trip is part of a wider campaign to expand Canada’s non-US export markets. In the past year Ottawa has signed more than twenty trade agreements as the government seeks to double non-American exports within a decade. Analysts note that the partnership also sends a signal that Canada is actively diversifying its economic partners amid ongoing tariff tensions with Washington.
Carney will meet Turkish business leaders and investors in Istanbul on Friday to explore further commercial opportunities. Both governments present the strategic partnership as a practical step toward stronger economic and security cooperation in a changing global landscape.
