Carney’s Turkish balancing act must include business, defence and human rights

Murray Brewster · CBC News

· Posted: Oct 21, 2026 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

Prime Minister Mark Carney departs for Turkey on Wednesday for a three-day visit with a strategically important NATO ally whose economic and defence industries have become increasingly attractive to Ottawa.

The trip includes meetings with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara and business leaders in Istanbul, and is the first dedicated bilateral visit to Turkey by a Canadian prime minister.

The meetings are a sign of warming relations between the two countries after Canada imposed a de facto arms embargo for several years. 

Ottawa initially froze and then cancelled military permits in 2021 over allegations Ankara had redirected Canadian-manufactured drone parts to Azerbaijani forces during the conflict with Armenia over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The policy has since been eased.

The visit also comes a month after Turkish authorities launched a sweeping and unprecedented nationwide crackdown on dissent and civil society, heavily focusing on the systematic dismantling of LGBTQ+ and HIV-advocacy organizations. 

WATCH | Living under the shadow of fear during violent crackdowns in Turkey:

Senior federal officials, speaking on background ahead of the trip, said the visit is in keeping with the prime minister's foreign policy.

"Canada is meeting this moment with values based realism. We are pursuing an approach that is both principled and pragmatic," said one official at a technical briefing.

"Principled in its commitment to the fundamental values of freedom, human rights, sustainability and solidarity. Pragmatic in recognizing that not every partner will share all of those values."

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Three issues are likely to dominate Carney's visit: negotiating a free trade agreement, expanding co-operation in energy and strategic industries and developing a closer defence-industrial relationship.

Canada does about $4.3 billion in trade with Turkey. Carney and Erdoğan formally announced the launch of free trade negotiations during the NATO summit in Ankara on July 7.

Carney is attempting to build a stronger strategic partnership with Turkey at a time when Canada is seeking to diversify its international economic relationships and reduce its dependence on the United States.

The prime minister will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Anita Anand and Energy Minister Tim Hodgeson.

Canada pitching Turkey on Candu reactors

Turkey is expanding its nuclear-energy industry as part of a broader strategy to diversify electricity generation and reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels.

Canada sees a possible commercial opportunity for its Candu nuclear reactor technology.

In June, the Canadian and Turkish trade ministers explicitly identified potential co-operation involving Candu reactors.

This is significant because nuclear projects involve enormous long-term commitments, including financing, fuel arrangements, technology transfers, regulatory co-operation and industrial participation.

Federal officials were asked whether a deal was possible during the trip and said they were "not in a position to say anything about any specific outcomes at this point."

There could be more progress on the defence industrial side of the relationship. 

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Canada's Secretary of State for Defence Procurement, Stephen Fuhr, visited the country in May 2026, described Turkey as a trusted partner and framed the burgeoning relationship in terms of Carney's push for closer co-operation among middle powers.

"Individually we're just not big enough, but collectively we are," Fuhr said.

In a recent interview with Defense News, Fuhr identified ammunition production, drones and counter-drone systems as key areas for potential co-operation with Turkey.

He also suggested that future collaboration could involve co-development programmes rather than simple off-the-shelf purchases, particularly in sectors where Canada is seeking faster capability growth without having to start from scratch.

Carney and Erdoğan speak as the prime minister leaves a bilateral meeting in Ankara in July. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)

The dispute over military exports is rarely — if ever — mentioned between the two countries and senior federal officials said Tuesday that Canada continues to apply its export-control framework, including assessments of the risk that Canadian military equipment could contribute to violations of international humanitarian law or be transferred to unauthorized users.

"We are looking at each potential export on a case by case basis and that is the Minister of Foreign Affairs who reviews all of those, but this is a growing partnership and it's an important one," said one official.

"The resumption of more regular contact with Turkey has enabled us to have exactly these kinds of conversations. We are in a position to resume a more regular export relationship and we will continue to monitor."