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Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney plans to visit Türkiye later in October to meet President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, according to a report, with talks expected to cover energy, trade and defense.
The visit would be the first dedicated bilateral visit to Türkiye by a Canadian leader, but sources did not provide dates or an agenda for the trip, Reuters reported.
The visit would mark Carney's latest departure from Canadian diplomatic convention as he seeks to reduce the country's reliance on the United States, by far its biggest trading partner, after trade talks between the two countries collapsed in August.
At the NATO leaders' summit in July, Carney and Erdogan formally launched negotiations for a free-trade agreement.
That month, Türkiye also agreed to participate as a founding member of Canada's proposed Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB), a multilateral initiative backed by Carney to expand financing for defense and security projects.
Bilateral ties began to thaw in 2024 when Canada removed weapons-export controls on Türkiye, including controls on optical technology used in drones that Türkiye exports to dozens of nations.
The two countries' trade ministers met in June and planned to expand cooperation in renewable and nuclear energy, while a Canadian government statement identified aerospace, defense and security as areas for potential new partnerships.
Türkiye has also been in talks with Canadian nuclear technology developer AtkinsRealis over the potential deployment of CANDU reactor technology in the country's planned nuclear power plants.
AtkinsRealis has been exploring a potential role in Türkiye's nuclear expansion through its Candu Energy subsidiary, which signed a memorandum of understanding with Türkiye Nuclear Energy Company (TUNAS) in March. The agreement covers cooperation on the possible deployment of Canadian CANDU reactor technology.
Türkiye's Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said the country is in discussions with Canada, South Korea, China and Russia over its planned nuclear reactors. He has also said Türkiye will assess proposals based on competitive terms and the extent of localization offered by each project.
Türkiye plans two more large-scale nuclear power plants after Akkuyu, which was undertaken by Russia's Rosatom and is expected to be commissioned toward the end of this year in the southern province of Mersin.
The projects are planned for Sinop in the north and the Thrace region in the country's northwest, with plans for four reactors at each site, bringing the planned total to eight additional reactors.
In July, CANDU International President Gary Rose described the technical information-sharing process with TUNAS as a period of growing cooperation and momentum, while outlining the company's aim of establishing a long-term nuclear partnership with Türkiye.
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