Years of on-and-off contact turned into a formal negotiation on 7 July, when President Erdoğan and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney sat down on the margins of the NATO summit in Ankara and agreed to open talks on a free-trade agreement.
A launch is all it is for now. The leaders instructed their officials to work out the scope of what a joint statement from Carney's office called a comprehensive, modern and mutually beneficial deal, then move to the negotiating table. Anadolu Ajansı reported the first round is planned for the final quarter of 2026, citing the timeline from Türkiye's Trade Ministry.
The ministry will run Türkiye's side. Before it settles a negotiating position, it plans to open a public survey for input from state bodies, private companies and non-governmental groups, according to AA. Technical working groups handle the scope-setting first, and a framework document follows.
Look at the trade that already moves between the two countries and the ambition makes sense. Two-way trade reached $2.74 billion in 2025, per figures AA attributed to the Trade Ministry. Türkiye sold Canada $1.58 billion and bought $1.16 billion back, so the balance tilts Ankara's way.
What Türkiye ships tells you where its strength sits. Boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances led exports in 2025 at roughly $159 million, followed by iron and steel at $104 million and articles of iron or steel at $97 million. That is the finished, higher-value end of the trade.
The launch did not come from nowhere. In early June, Trade Minister Ömer Bolat met his Canadian counterpart Maninder Sidhu, and the two issued a joint ministerial statement opening exploratory discussions toward a comprehensive agreement. That was the earlier, softer step. Ankara flagged energy as a promising area then, and both sides agreed to study nuclear cooperation, including Canada's CANDU reactor technology, which fits Türkiye's push to diversify how it supplies its power.
The stated goal is to multiply the volume and widen the cooperation, from the defense industry through to energy. Canadian coverage points to openings in clean energy, aerospace and mining.
Carney was in Ankara for the summit itself, the same gathering where he joined other leaders for the sessions we covered in Erdoğan's revolver gift and the pitch for Turkish arms. The trade launch slots into that week: a leaders' meeting on the sidelines that produced something with a longer shelf life than the communiqué.
A caveat worth keeping in view. The trade figures come from AA and the Turkish Trade Ministry, and Statistics Canada may log the numbers slightly differently once currency and classification are reconciled. Ottawa's own account of the meeting frames the benefits it expects for growth, jobs and supply chains, which is a government's projection of upside, not a measured result.
So the honest way to read 7 July is this. Türkiye and Canada agreed to negotiate. The hard part, turning intent into a signed and ratified text, sits ahead of them, and the first real test comes when officials meet later this year.