Turkey, for example, recently expressed interest in Canadian nuclear technology to reduce its dependence on nuclear projects involving Russia.

The Carney government has set out four pillars of its relationship with Turkey: energy exports, economic opportunities and trade, defence and security, and people-to-people ties.

Global Affairs Canada views Turkey as an emerging market of broad interest to Canada, with opportunities for Canadian companies in agriculture, life sciences, mining and infrastructure.

Turkey has helped Ottawa evacuate Canadians from various Middle East crises and bring home activists detained by Israel for joining flotillas that sought to bring aid to Palestinians in Gaza.

Canada and Turkey have had a tricky relationship in recent years, particularly over matters concerning Canada’s large Armenian diaspora. Canada has long held that Turkey committed a genocide against Armenians a century ago, a claim that Ankara has repeatedly denied.

Ottawa also suspended arms sales to Turkey seven years ago over reports Turkey was diverting Canadian military components to Azerbaijan for use against Armenia and ethnic Armenians. Canada tightened those rules two years later, before dropping them.

Kilford said that resulted in Turkey’s “very lucrative” arms industry being cut off from Ontario-made surveillance and targeting sensors that had been installed in Turkish-made Bayraktar drones.

Instead, countries like Ukraine started buying the Canadian sensors and installing them in the Turkish drones.

Turkey has criticized Canada for granting asylum to many Turkish political dissidents — an uncommon move for countries that are military allies.

“As far as Turkey is concerned, though, we’re granting political asylum to terrorists. They don’t like it,” Kilford said, calling the country a flawed democracy.

Turkey has cancelled multiple LGBTQ+ events and the Committee to Protect Journalists says Turkey is among the top jailers of journalists. Kilford said the vast majority of Turkish media outlets are “either directly or indirectly owned by the government or government supporters.”

Ahead of the summit, Turkey has erected “miles and miles of barricades” across Ankara, Kilford said, which allows motorcades to cross the city with ease and makes street protests more difficult.

The country is currently gripped by high inflation, he said. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has intervened in the country’s central bank, while many of his opponents have been jailed.

Kilford describes Turkey as an increasingly important state since it has maintained relative stability in a region experiencing great upheaval — from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the collapse of Syria’s dictatorship and the war Washington launched against Iran.

The country is touched by many major conflicts and by migration from Afghanistan and Syria.

Turkish Airlines, which Canada recently allowed to operate more flights, flies to hotspots most carriers won’t or can’t service, such as Kabul, Caracas and Mogadishu.

But Kilford said the Turkish government has long felt pushed to the periphery of geopolitical alliances like NATO and the European Union — which it has been trying to join for years.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 5, 2026.

Kyle Duggan and Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press