Carney defends closer Turkey ties as Ankara targets LGBTQ groups

Prime Minister Mark Carney has defended deepening Canada's ties with Turkey, even as Turkish authorities target LGBTQ groups. Speaking to reporters in Istanbul on Friday, Carney described his approach to foreign policy as "values-based realism." He said that means doing business with countries even when Canada disagrees with how they behave.

Carney said his job is to protect human rights inside Canada and to find new export markets abroad, which he linked to strengthening Canadian sovereignty. "Engagement is not approval," he said. He also said Canada raised LGBTQ+ rights issues during its meetings in Turkey, according to Reuters. Carney said Canada's first and foremost responsibility is protecting and promoting LGBTQI and Two-Spirited rights at home, so that Canadians can live their full selves in Canada.

Turkey's government says its crackdown on LGBTQ+ groups aims to protect children and family values. Turkey has also pursued a broader crackdown on the opposition since 2024, and new arrests targeting the LGBTQ+ community have occurred since September, Reuters reported. Turkish authorities have arrested journalists and activists, including LGBTQ people.

During the trip, Carney struck a strategic partnership with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. It covers co-operation in energy and defence. The visit is the first bilateral trip to Turkey by a Canadian prime minister, the Globe and Mail reported.

Carney and Erdogan also said negotiations toward a Canada-Turkey free-trade agreement, first announced in July, will begin next month. The Globe and Mail reported that the two leaders made that announcement.

Energy is one of the areas where Canada hopes to sell. Canada wants to sell CANDU nuclear reactors, which generate nuclear power, to Turkey. Turkey plans to add 20 gigawatts of nuclear power by 2050. Carney said the chances of such a sale were very low a year ago and are now good.