{"id":942313,"date":"2026-10-22T17:26:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-22T17:26:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/942313\/"},"modified":"2026-10-22T17:26:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T17:26:09","slug":"canada-turkey-announce-strategic-partnership-to-deepen-energy-defence-and-trade-ties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/942313\/","title":{"rendered":"Canada, Turkey announce strategic partnership to deepen energy, defence and trade ties"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Prime Minister Mark Carney with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan before a meeting at the Bestepe Presidential Complex in Ankara on Thursday.Adrian Wyld\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a strategic partnership with Turkey that will deepen co-operation in defence, energy and joint ventures with the country of 87 million.<\/p>\n

Mr. Carney stood with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Bestepe Presidential Complex in Ankara to unveil a three-year action plan the two leaders said will \u201cfundamentally deepen and elevate\u201d relations between Canada and Turkey including \u201cexpanding political dialogue,\u201d trade, technological development and common security. <\/p>\n

Turkey is the latest stop in the Prime Minister\u2019s drive to reduce reliance on the increasingly protectionist and unpredictable United States under Donald Trump \u2013 a challenge Mr. Carney indirectly referenced Thursday when he said Canada these days is seeking \u201creliable partners.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Erdogan said Mr. Carney\u2019s visit turns a page in Canada-Turkish relations, which entered a deep freeze more than five years ago when Ottawa restricted arms exports to Turkey. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe had some kind of disconnect for a period but today we put an end to it,\u201d the President said.<\/p>\n

The Canadian pact provides legitimacy to Mr. Erdogan, who critics say is responsible for Turkey\u2019s democratic backsliding into an autocracy. The U.S. watchdog Freedom House scores Turkey as 32\/100 on its civil liberties index, or \u201cnot free,\u201d saying the President and his party \u201chave become increasingly authoritarian in recent years, consolidating significant power through constitutional changes and by imprisoning opponents and critics.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Prime Minister announced that Export Development Canada, which helps finance and insure Canadian exporters, will sign an agreement with counterpart Turk Eximbank to help companies in both countries undertake joint ventures in foreign markets. The focus will be on energy, mining and critical minerals, infrastructure and transportation, Mr. Carney said.<\/p>\n

The two leaders said 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.<\/p>\n

Mr. Carney and Mr. Erdogan said negotiations toward a free trade agreement, first announced in July, will begin next month.<\/p>\n

The Prime Minister announced International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu will lead a trade mission to Turkey in 2027.<\/p>\n

Mr. Carney is the first prime minister to make a bilateral trip to Turkey, purely to advance Turkey-Canada relations.<\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Mark Carney is the first prime minister to make a bilateral trip to Turkey, purely to advance Turkey-Canada relations.Adrian Wyld\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

Mr. Carney arrived at the Turkish presidential complex Thursday afternoon where he was greeted with the firing of military cannons. The Prime Minister was welcome by Mr. Erdogan and then he stopped at a microphone to address members of a military band, saying \u201cmerhaba asker,\u201d which loosely translates to \u201chello, soldiers.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Prime Minister, accompanied by Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson, spoke of his desire to sell CANDU nuclear reactors, critical minerals and liquefied natural gas to Turkey. Mr. Carney said Mr. Hodgson and his Turkish counterpart have agreed to work together to advance collaboration across the energy sector, including LNG, civil nuclear energy, renewable energy and critical energy infrastructure.<\/p>\n

\u201cCanada is on its way to becoming an energy superpower. Turkey\u2019s economy is growing rapidly and needs a secure and reliable energy supply. We have much to offer: from LNG and civilian nuclear technology to clean energy and the critical minerals that will be at the heart of tomorrow\u2019s economy,\u201d Mr. Carney said.<\/p>\n

He lauded a recent defence industry partnership deal with Turkey that will \u201cconnect Canadian and Turkish companies to work together, creating good jobs at home, export opportunities abroad and a stronger NATO alliance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Turkey\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n

Canada is forming a ‘strategic partnership’ with Turkey aimed in part at securing a free-trade agreement, Prime Minister Mark Carney said.<\/p>\n

The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

Canada has high hopes for defence co-operation with Turkey, which was ranked the 11th largest arms exporter in the 2021-2025 period by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. It wants to benefit from Turkey\u2019s expertise as Canada undertakes the sharpest hike in military spending since the Korean War.<\/p>\n

Two senior officials said this could include tapping Turkey\u2019s military drone prowess, and technology transfers or joint ventures. The Globe is not identifying the officials because they are not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.<\/p>\n

Turkish officials have repeatedly said more than 80 per cent of the country\u2019s defence industry\u2019s content is now domestic, which reduces dependence on foreign suppliers.<\/p>\n

Trade between the two countries has grown steadily in the last 15 years, but with gains mostly in Turkey\u2019s favour. Ankara remains a minor trading partner, however. In 2010, two-way trade was about $1.6-billion with Canada exporting $841.7-million to Turkey and importing $714.2-million, according to Statistics Canada. By 2025 that had grown to $4.3-billion with Canada exporting $1.1 billion to Turkey and importing $3.2-billion.<\/p>\n

In his own remarks, Mr. Erdogan said he hopes trade between the two countries will roughly double to $10-billion and said he plans on visiting Canada.<\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Prime Minister Mark Carney and Diana Fox Carney participate in a ceremony at the An\u0131tkabir, the Mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in Ankara.Adrian Wyld\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

Before meeting with Mr. Ergodan, the Prime Minister on Thursday morning laid a wreath at the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, a massive stone commemoration of the founder of modern Turkey. Ataturk is remembered in part for transforming Turkey into a secular, pro-Western country and laying the foundations for its transition to democracy.<\/p>\n

Critics say that Mr. Erdogan, in contrast, introduced religion back into public life, and while he has brought great prosperity to Turkey over his more than two decades in power, is also responsible for the country\u2019s illiberal turn in recent years.<\/p>\n

In recent months, Turkey has taken over a pro-opposition media outlet, raided LGBTQ groups and convicted a stand-up comic of insulting the country\u2019s President.<\/p>\n

This four-day trip is another demonstration of Mr. Carney\u2019s pivot to what he has called \u201cvalues-based realism\u201d foreign policy \u2013 which the Prime Minister has explained means no more \u201clecturing from afar\u201d if Canada disagrees with another country\u2019s conduct.<\/p>\n

\u201cEngagement does not mean endorsement,\u201d is Mr. Carney\u2019s maxim.<\/p>\n

With a report from The Canadian Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Prime Minister Mark Carney with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan before a meeting…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":942314,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[901,888,902,879,877,903,49,48,876,895,896,891,878,875,46,549,295,894,887,914,880,881,893,889,890,884,904,885,909,910,44,912,907,911,905,908,882,898,899,714,897,906,865,61,900,892,886,883,913],"class_list":["post-942313","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-alberta","tag-arts-news","tag-bc","tag-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news-video","tag-british-columbia","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canada-news","tag-canada-sports","tag-canada-sports-news","tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","tag-canadian-breaking-news","tag-canadian-news","tag-economy","tag-education","tag-environment","tag-federal-government","tag-foreign-news","tag-globe-and-mail","tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","tag-government","tag-life-news","tag-lifestyle","tag-local-news","tag-manitoba","tag-national-news","tag-new-brunswick","tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","tag-news","tag-northwest-territories","tag-nova-scotia","tag-nunavut","tag-ontario","tag-pei","tag-photos","tag-political-news","tag-political-opinion","tag-politics","tag-politics-news","tag-quebec","tag-sports-news","tag-technology","tag-travel","tag-trudeau","tag-us-news","tag-world-news","tag-yukon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/942313","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=942313"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/942313\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/942314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=942313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=942313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=942313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}