Canada and Turkey agreed Thursday to open negotiations on a free trade agreement, as Prime Minister Mark Carney became the first Canadian head of government to make an official visit to the country, seeking to diversify his nation’s economic partnerships amid an escalating trade war with the United States.
The announcement came during a joint appearance in Ankara, where Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the two sides would move quickly to formalize a deal.
“We decided to begin negotiations for a free trade agreement, which includes increasing trade and investment, before the end of the year,” Erdogan told reporters.
Erdogan said the countries aimed to expand bilateral trade from roughly
3billionto5 billion, and eventually to $10 billion, while nearly doubling the number of direct flights between them.
Carney said Canadian negotiators would travel to Ankara next month for the first round of talks, framing the move as part of a broader effort to reduce reliance on Washington.
“Canada is building deeper partnerships with reliable partners that create new opportunities for us both,” Carney said. “And in Turkey, we have an exceptional partner.”
The two leaders also signed an agreement on defense industry cooperation. Carney said the pact would “connect Canadian and Turkish companies to work together, creating good jobs at home, export opportunities abroad, greater security for our citizens, and contributing to a stronger NATO alliance.”
Carney, a former central banker who took office in March 2025, has made reducing dependence on the United States a cornerstone of his tenure. He is scheduled to meet Friday with Turkish business leaders in Istanbul to discuss cooperation in strategic sectors including energy, aerospace and critical minerals.
The Turkey visit is the latest in a series of overseas trips through which Carney has sought to renew ties with countries such as Saudi Arabia, India and China — relationships that had grown strained or ruptured under his predecessor, Justin Trudeau
