Prime Minister Mark Carney attended a signing ceremony at the Saudi Arabia-Canada Investment Forum in Jeddah on Thursday, a bilateral visit aimed at deepening trade and investment ties between the two countries. The Globe and Mail reported that Carney met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Saudi business leaders.

Carney arrived Wednesday evening after attending the NATO summit in Ankara. His wife, Diana Fox Carney, accompanied him. The Prime Minister's Office had announced the schedule weeks earlier, with the July 8 to 10 visit confirmed in a June 30 news release. Saudi media provided a welcome ceremony with Prince Saud on arrival, according to the Washington Post.

Thursday's meetings included Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser, Saudi Industry and Mineral Resources Minister Bandar al Khorayef, and Ma'aden CEO Bob Wilt—a roster that signals where Riyadh intends to focus Canadian investment and technical expertise. Carney's delegation included Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne, Defence Minister David McGuinty, Defence Investment Agency CEO Doug Guzman and Liberal MP Sameer Zuberi.

Jeff Steiner, chair of the Canada-Saudi Arabia Business Council, described the visit as a "high-water mark" for bilateral relations. He told the Globe that opportunities exist across health care, energy, tourism and education, but mining and critical minerals are the priority. Saudi Arabia has designated mining as its "second pillar" economy alongside petroleum production.

That focus matters for anyone tracking Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia's long-term economic diversification strategy. Saudi state media had already signalled interest weeks before Carney arrived: the Saudi Press Agency reported June 16 that a Cabinet session chaired by the Crown Prince mentioned Canada's Ministry of Natural Resources. A second Cabinet session under Mohammed bin Salman occurred July 7, the day before Carney's arrival. Finance Minister Champagne is working to resolve outstanding disputes around double taxation and foreign-investment protection between the two countries—the regulatory groundwork that must be in place before Canadian mining capital flows at significant scale.

From Rupture to Restoration

The current engagement follows a sharp diplomatic break that lasted nearly five years. In 2018, the Trudeau government publicly criticized Saudi Arabia's justice system and its treatment of women. Riyadh responded by halting trade talks and both countries withdrew their ambassadors. That freeze lasted until 2023, when ambassadors were restored under the current government. Thursday's ceremony, and the presence of two cabinet ministers and a Crown corporation CEO in the delegation, represents a considerably more active phase than the cautious normalization of recent years.

Carney and the Crown Prince have also been in direct contact before this trip. The two spoke by phone on May 29, 2025, according to a statement cited by Reuters—contact that came weeks after Carney took office and suggests this week's visit was carefully planned rather than improvised.

Thomas Juneau, a Gulf expert quoted by the Globe, notes that personal connections carry particular weight in Saudi diplomacy. This point helps explain why Carney's own presence—rather than a minister travelling alone—was deemed necessary to advance negotiations. In a system where policy authority concentrates heavily around the Crown Prince and his immediate circle, a prime ministerial visit with a signing ceremony carries different diplomatic weight than a trade mission led by officials.

The Critical Minerals Connection

The mining and critical-minerals angle warrants close attention within Ottawa's broader resource strategy. Canada has spent recent years positioning itself as a secure, rules-based supplier of critical minerals to Western allies concerned about Chinese processing dominance. Saudi Arabia is simultaneously building out mining as a second economic pillar, backed by Ma'aden's capital and Aramco-affiliated financing. The potential complementarity is evident: Saudi capital and processing ambition paired with Canadian mineral deposits, permitting frameworks and technical expertise. Whether Thursday's signing ceremony translates into binding commitments beyond the ceremony itself—and what concrete terms Champagne's ongoing tax and investment-protection negotiations ultimately produce—will determine whether this visit shifts the relationship's trajectory or simply formalizes the diplomatic thaw already under way since 2023.

The defence dimension also warrants monitoring, given McGuinty's presence and Guzman's role leading the Defence Investment Agency. However, neither the Globe's reporting nor the PMO release detailed specific defence outcomes from this trip. Saudi Arabia remains one of the largest defence markets in the region, and Canadian firms have experienced a complicated history there, including controversies surrounding the LAV (Light Armoured Vehicle) contract over the past decade. Any defence-related agreements from this visit have yet to be disclosed publicly.