As Prime Minister Mark Carney visits Ankara for the annual NATO summit, Canada and Turkey have announced the launch of negotiations toward a free trade agreement.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a July 7 statement that, during Carney’s meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the summit, the two countries launched negotiations toward a “comprehensive, modern, and mutually beneficial” free trade agreement.
The PMO said the technical teams from both countries will work to define the “scope and ambition” of the agreement over the next few months, and prepare for the first round of negotiations.
The move follows a June agreement between Canadian and Turkish trade ministers to begin exploratory discussions aimed at concluding a free trade agreement.
Total trade volumes between Canada and Turkey were valued at $4.3 billion in 2024, with Canadian exports being valued at $1.3 billion and Turkish exports valued at $3.1 billion.
Canada’s top exports to the Middle Eastern country in 2024 was lentils and chickpeas, iron and steel waste, and soybeans, while Canada’s top imports from Turkey were flat-rolled iron sheet products, tugboats, and pharmaceutical products.
Ottawa says that “opportunities exist” for Canadian companies in the Turkish market, particularly when it comes to agriculture, energy, information and communication technologies, life sciences, mining, education, and infrastructure.
Back in 2019, the two countries held the first Joint Economic and Trade Committee meeting in Istanbul, with the aim of enhancing economic cooperation and increasing bilateral trade and investment.
According to the PMO, Carney will be in Ankara from July 6 to 8 with the goal of strengthening Canada’s contributions to NATO, while building “shared security,” including in the defence of Ukraine as its war with Russia continues.
The prime minister will then travel to Saudi Arabia to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and discuss expanding trade and investment in energy, critical minerals, artificial intelligence, and tourism.
Carney told reporters on July 6 that Canada would arrive at the NATO Summit “in a position to help lead the alliance” given its increased defence spending and purchasing of new submarines, icebreakers, aircraft, radar systems, military installations, and drones. Carney had announced the same day that Ottawa chose the German defence company ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) as the preferred bidder to build Canada’s next fleet of 12 submarines.
According to NATO estimates, Canada spent $38.3 billion on defence in 2023 and $44.2 billion in 2024. That number jumped to $62.7 billion in 2025 after Carney announced in June of that year that Ottawa would increase defence spending by $9 billion by the end of the fiscal year.
