Carney’s Turkish balancing act must include business, defence and human rights
Carney visits Turkey, courting a powerful NATO ally despite fresh concerns about human rights
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.
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industries → include → 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.
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trip → include → minister
The meetings are a sign of warming relations between the two countries after Canada imposed a de facto arms embargo for several years.
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Canada → warm → 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.
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Ankara → freeze → Karabakh
The policy has since been eased.
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policy → ease → ?
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.
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authorities → come → organizations
Senior federal officials, speaking on background ahead of the trip, said the visit is in keeping with the prime minister's foreign policy.
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visit → speak → policy
"Canada is meeting this moment with values based realism.
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Canada → meet → realism
We are pursuing an approach that is both principled and pragmatic," said one official at a technical briefing.
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official → pursue → briefing
Pragmatic in recognizing that not every partner will share all of those values.
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partner → recognize → values
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Turkey's president gifted Carney a revolver at NATO summit.
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president → gift → summit
Carney gave him maple syrup
- Analysis
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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.
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issues → give → relationship
Canada does about $4.3 billion in trade with Turkey.
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Canada → do → Turkey
Carney and Erdoğan formally announced the launch of free trade negotiations during the NATO summit in Ankara on July 7.
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Carney → announce → July
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.
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Canada → attempt → States
The prime minister will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Anita Anand and Energy Minister Tim Hodgeson.
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minister → accompany → Anand
Canada pitching Turkey on Candu reactors
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Canada → pitch → 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.
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Turkey → expand → fuels
Canada sees a possible commercial opportunity for its Candu nuclear reactor technology.
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Canada → see → technology
In June, the Canadian and Turkish trade ministers explicitly identified potential co-operation involving Candu reactors.
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ministers → identify → reactors
This is significant because nuclear projects involve enormous long-term commitments, including financing, fuel arrangements, technology transfers, regulatory co-operation and industrial participation.
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projects → involve → financing
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.
Ottawa plans Crown corporation to break defence procurement logjam
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corporation → ask → logjam
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.
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Secretary → visit → powers
"Individually we're just not big enough, but collectively we are," Fuhr said.
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Fuhr → say → ?
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.
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Fuhr → identify → 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.
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Canada → suggest → scratch
Carney and Erdoğan speak as the prime minister leaves a bilateral meeting in Ankara in July.
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minister → speak → July
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.
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equipment → mention → 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.
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official → look → those
"The resumption of more regular contact with Turkey has enabled us to have exactly these kinds of conversations.
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resumption → enable → conversations
We are in a position to resume a more regular export relationship and we will continue to monitor."
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we → resume → relationship
The Aporia
