Canada-Türkiye relations
Bilateral relations
Canada and Türkiye have longstanding diplomatic relations. In 1944, Türkiye opened an Embassy in Ottawa and in 1947, Canada appointed its first Ambassador to Türkiye. In recent years, as friends and allies, Canada and Türkiye have expanded the depth and variety of their bilateral links as valued political, commercial, strategic, and security partners. Canada welcomes a vibrant Turkish diaspora community of over 65,000, the majority of whom are concentrated in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa, Hamilton, Calgary and Edmonton.
Trade relations
Türkiye is an emerging market of broad interest to Canada. In 2024, two-way merchandise trade was over $4.3 billion. Canadian merchandise exports totalled $1.3 billion while imports from Türkiye added up to $3.1 billion. In 2024, Canada’s top exports to Türkiye were lentils and chickpeas ($393 million), iron and steel waste and scrap ($167 million), and soybeans ($113 million). In 2024, Canada’s top imports from Türkiye were flat-rolled iron sheet products ($203 million), tugboats ($128 million) and pharmaceutical products ($107 million). The stock of Canadian direct investment in Türkiye, mostly in the mining sector, has been in steady decline in recent years and fell from $1 billion in 2022 to $420 million in 2023.
Opportunities exist for Canadian companies, particularly in the agriculture, energy, information and communication technologies, life sciences, transportation, cleantech, mining, education, and infrastructure sectors. In 2019, Canada and Türkiye held the first Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) meeting in Istanbul. The Canada-Türkiye JETCO is a forum that aims to enhance economic relations, strengthen cooperation in trade and investment, increase commercial cooperation and promote a favourable environment for private sector investment between our countries.
On December 31st, 2024, there were 4,650 Turkish citizens holding valid study permits in Canada. This represents a return to 2022 levels, a decrease of 23% over 2023.
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Operations
Türkiye and Canada's Armed Forces have enjoyed a longstanding cooperation in the framework of the NATO Alliance through which they are active participants in a variety of multilateral peace and security operations, such as the Kosovo Force (KFOR) and the NATO Mission in Iraq.
Partnerships and organizations
To develop effective responses to today’s most pressing global challenges, Canada and Türkiye work closely in multilateral fora, such as:
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