ANKARA
Prime Minister Mark Carney and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced a new strategic partnership on Thursday, with formal free trade negotiations set to begin in Ankara next month.
"We had some kind of disconnect for a period, but today we put an end to it," Erdogan said via English translation during joint statements in Ankara.
Carney called Turkiye an "exceptional partner" and said the Canada-Turkiye Strategic Partnership involves a three-year action plan focused on trade and investment, defence and security, energy and people-to-people ties.
"Our objectives are clear: more trade and business between our countries to build more prosperity for our people," Carney said, noting the partnership comes with a three-year action plan.
"By lowering costs, cutting barriers and creating greater certainty, we will open new doors for Canadian companies."
Carney said both countries' foreign ministers will meet on an annual basis for a dialogue to "keep this partnership on track."
Erdogan said he hopes trade between the two countries will roughly double to $10 billion and announced he would be accepting an invitation to visit Canada at some point.
The two leaders spoke in meetings for about an hour and a half on Thursday, after an elaborate welcome ceremony at the presidential palace. Carney is making the first official bilateral visit by a Canadian prime minister to Turkiye.
The governments also finalized a previously announced air transport agreement, allowing weekly passenger flights between the two countries to increase from 12 to 21, with no limit on cargo-only flights.
In a joint statement, the two leaders said they are committing to deeper people-to-people ties and that Canada and Turkiye have shared values, including "human rights, individual liberties, democracy and the rule of law."
Neither Carney nor Erdogan took questions from reporters Thursday. Carney is expected to speak with Canadian media on Friday in Istanbul.
The defence relationship between the two NATO allies has been rocky in recent years. Canada suspended arms export permits to Turkiye in 2020 after a government report found evidence the country was using Canadian military technology, specifically sensors used on Turkish drones, in the conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan.
That ban was lifted in 2024. Erdogan and Carney last met in Ankara at the NATO summit in July, where they formally launched the free trade deal talks and signed a defence framework.
Human rights groups have been calling on Canada to condemn the ongoing crackdown in Turkiye on LGBTQ2S+ groups. The Erdogan government is under heavy scrutiny internationally over reports of official persecution of LGBTQ+ organizers in the country.
The federal government has not yet released the results of consultations with Canadians on the possibility of a free trade deal, which wrapped up last month. Carney's trip aims to deepen ties as the government continues to try and lessen dependence on the United States.
e2gold.ca reported on Wednesday that Carney spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump about trade as American officials accused Canada of election interference.
This story was written by the e2gold.ca newsroom from reporting by BNN Bloomberg, CTV News, Toronto Star and Winnipeg Sun. Quotes are checked word for word against that reporting.