Carney Plans Brief Mid-October Visit to Turkey for Talks With Erdogan
Prime Minister Mark Carney plans to travel to Turkey in mid-October for an official visit that would include a meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Reuters first reported the plan on Oct. 2, citing sources.
The Globe and Mail subsequently cited two sources describing an official visit. The paper said it is not identifying the sources because they were not authorised to speak publicly. One source said the trip will likely take place in mid-October and will be brief.
The trip would be the first bilateral visit to Turkey by a Canadian prime minister in recent history. A bilateral visit means a standalone trip arranged between the two countries, rather than a meeting on the sidelines of a summit. Justin Trudeau visited Turkey for international summits but not for a standalone trip during his time as prime minister.
The visit is described as part of an effort to diversify trade ties. The Globe and Mail reported Carney plans to meet Erdogan during the visit this month, and Daily Sabah on Oct. 2 also reported a planned visit to Türkiye for talks with Erdogan.
The trip would follow a recent round of direct engagement. Carney travelled to Ankara, Türkiye, from July 6 to 8, 2026, to participate in the 2026 NATO Summit. He met with Erdogan on the margins of that summit, meaning a short meeting outside the main schedule, according to a Prime Minister's Office readout. PMO
On July 7, 2026, Carney and Erdogan announced the launch of Free-Trade Agreement negotiations between Canada and Türkiye. PMO On July 8, Carney concluded his participation at the summit in Ankara.
Two earlier files provide context for readers following the bilateral relationship. Canada placed a ban on arms exports to Turkish customers after Canadian-made airstrike-targeting gear was redirected by Turkey to help Azerbaijan launch drone attacks on Armenian forces in 2021. Canada lifted that ban in early 2024.
Erdogan gave Carney an engraved revolver as a gift at a NATO summit. Carney later said the firearm could be housed at the Canadian War Museum. The Globe and Mail reported the gift on July 14 and the museum proposal.
The broader context here is procedural as much as diplomatic, and that is what gives a standalone visit weight in Ottawa. A margins meeting allows leaders to take stock and issue instructions. A bilateral visit creates expectations around a joint statement, a defined agenda and follow-up tasked to departments. For Global Affairs, Innovation, and the trade negotiators, the distinction matters for mandates and sequencing, much like the difference between a brief hallway chat and a scheduled meeting with minutes.
In my view, the files to watch are the FTA scoping and the defence and export-permit relationship. The July launch committed both sides to negotiations, but did not settle scope, timelines or politically sensitive chapters. A brief October visit would be consistent with an effort to maintain political momentum rather than to conclude text. On defence, the history of the 2021 diversion finding and the 2024 lifting means any discussion of industrial cooperation will be read closely against Canada's export-control regime.
Looking at what this means for federal practice, the deliverable to note will be the written record. Ottawa will measure the trip less by the photo opportunity than by whether it produces a detailed readout, named working groups or ministerial follow-up. The trip would be short. The test will be whether officials leave Ankara with instructions clear enough to carry into the fall legislative and negotiating calendar.
