Prime Minister Mark Carney is heading to Turkey this week for the first dedicated bilateral visit by a Canadian prime minister, with the two NATO allies expected to sign a joint declaration deepening cooperation on defence, energy and trade.
Carney is set to meet Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on Thursday before sitting down with Turkish business leaders in Istanbul on Friday. According to a person briefed on the matter, the declaration will cover four areas, defence, energy, the economy and social and diplomatic ties, with committees established in each to draft action plans.
Cutting dependence on Washington
The visit is part of Carney’s push to reduce Canada’s trade dependence on the United States and build partnerships with regional powers, as a damaging trade war with Washington grinds on and President Donald Trump keeps questioning Canadian sovereignty. Ottawa is most interested in Turkey’s aerospace, defence, energy, mining, high-tech and agriculture sectors, and talks may extend to nuclear power and LNG.
The economic stakes are real. Canada’s parliamentary budget officer estimates the trade dispute could leave real GDP 1.4 percent lower after five years, with the effective American tariff rate on Canadian imports rising from 5.3 to 7.7 percent since June. Diversification is no longer a talking point; it is the strategy.
A packed day before departure
Before leaving, Carney faces a full Ottawa schedule. He attends the national caucus meeting in the morning, meets Ontario Premier Doug Ford in the early afternoon, and joins Ford for an announcement to protect workers and strengthen Ontario industries at 2 p.m. He departs for Ankara at 6:30 p.m.
The Turkey trip caps a remarkable fortnight for the prime minister, who rallied 7,000 supporters in Calgary ahead of Alberta’s referendum and welcomed the result as a show of national unity. BusinessWorld’s reporting notes that Canadian officials declined to confirm specific deals at Tuesday’s briefing, keeping expectations managed until the leaders meet.
