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Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will visit Turkey tomorrow, from October 21 to 23, for a series of high-level talks expected to give fresh momentum to relations between the two countries.

Carney is expected to be received by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in what would be the first official bilateral visit to Turkey by a Canadian prime minister. Discussions are set to cover political and diplomatic issues as well as trade, defense industries, energy and mutual investments.

Business talks and priority sectors

Carney and the accompanying delegation are also expected to meet representatives of the Turkish business community. Alongside the main topics, the talks are set to address opportunities in priority sectors such as aviation, advanced technologies and critical minerals.

Relations between the two countries gained new dimension with the messages delivered at NATO's Ankara Summit in July. Following talks held on the sidelines of the summit, a joint statement was issued on launching free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations between Turkey and Canada, and technical teams from both sides have worked intensively since then to define the scope and objectives of a deal.

Earlier ministerial contacts

Trade Minister Omer Bolat and Canadian International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu met in June to advance economic partnership between the two countries. The energy sector was assessed at that meeting as a promising area for further cooperation, and possibilities for collaboration in nuclear energy were also discussed. Those contacts are expected to carry bilateral trade to a new level.

Bilateral trade nears $2 billion in eight months

Turkey's exports to Canada last year totaled $1.577 billion, while imports from that country reached $1.162 billion, putting the bilateral trade volume at $2.740 billion for the year. In 2025, boilers, machinery, mechanical devices and instruments led export categories with $158.781 million, followed by iron and steel at $104.436 million and articles of iron or steel at $97.046 million.

In the first eight months of this year, Turkey's exports amounted to $1.023 billion and imports to $954.812 million, bringing bilateral trade close to $2 billion. From January to August, boilers, machinery, mechanical devices and instruments again ranked first with $96.062 million, ahead of aluminum and aluminum articles at $73.841 million and fresh fruit and nuts at $49.520 million.

If the FTA is signed, new cooperation is targeted to lift the trade volume to $7-8 billion in the short term and to $10 billion over the longer term.

Tourism and investment figures

The number of visitors to Turkey from Canada rose 6.1 percent in 2025 compared with the previous year, reaching 321,271, after 302,728 tourists in 2024. In the January-August period of this year, arrivals from Canada increased 2.9 percent year on year to 209,176.

According to Statistics Canada data, Canada's direct investment stock in Turkey stood at 3.3 billion Canadian dollars as of 2025. Turkey's direct investment stock in Canada, by comparison, was 233 million Canadian dollars.

Key takeaways

• Mark Carney will visit Turkey on October 21-23 in the first official bilateral visit to Turkey by a Canadian prime minister.
• Talks with President Erdogan and Turkish business representatives are to cover trade, defense, energy, investment, aviation, advanced technologies and critical minerals.
• Turkey-Canada trade approached $2 billion in the first eight months of this year, with a target of $7-8 billion in the short term if a free trade deal is signed.
• Statistics Canada puts Canadian direct investment stock in Turkey at 3.3 billion Canadian dollars as of 2025.