OTTAWA — In a major move to strengthen bilateral relations between Canada and Turkey, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is scheduled to depart for the Turkish capital of Ankara on Monday. This marks the first visit by a Canadian prime minister to Turkey since 2015. The trip kicks off a week-long Middle East tour for Carney, which will include attending the annual NATO summit in Ankara followed by a brief visit to Saudi Arabia aimed at deepening trade and investment ties.
Scheduled for July 7 and 8, this year’s NATO summit has been significantly scaled down from typical alliance gatherings. Kerry Buck, Canada’s former ambassador to NATO, noted that the schedule has been condensed to a single dinner and one session to minimize potential friction, given U.S. President Donald Trump’s history of public criticism toward alliance allies. During the summit, Carney is expected to address Canada’s progress on defence spending in light of NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte’s directive for member states to allocate five percent of their national GDP to defence by 2035.
The Carney government has structured its relationship with Turkey around four core pillars: energy exports, economic and trade opportunities, defence and security, and people-to-people ties. Turkey has recently shown interest in Canadian nuclear technology to reduce its reliance on Russia, and Ankara previously assisted Ottawa in evacuating Canadian activists detained by Israel while trying to deliver aid to Palestinians in Gaza. However, long-standing diplomatic challenges remain, including Canada’s recognition of the Armenian genocide, past Canadian arms embargoes on Turkey, and Canada’s policy of granting asylum to Turkish political dissidents.
Despite these complexities, Turkey remains a strategically vital partner for Canada due to its relative stability in a deeply volatile region currently shaped by the Russia-Ukraine war, the collapse of Syria’s dictatorship, and Washington’s ongoing war against Iran. Amid high domestic inflation, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government has implemented extensive security measures across Ankara ahead of the high-profile summit.
