Carney Says Trade Engagement Is Not Approval as Canada Signs Partnership With Turkey

Prime Minister Mark Carney defended his government's balance between human rights and trade on Friday, arguing that few countries in the world can match Canada's standards. He spoke near the end of a visit to Turkey.

During the trip, Carney signed a strategic partnership with the government of President Recep Erdogan, which has long faced sustained criticism from human rights groups. Those complaints grew louder this month after Turkish authorities carried out several high-profile operations that, according to critics, aimed to silence opposition voices, suppress independent journalism and restrict marginalized groups.

Carney has previously described Canada's approach as values-based realism, which accepts that not every partner will share all Canadian values. "Engagement in those partnerships does not mean approval," he said Friday. "There are very few countries in this world that have the standards of Canada."

A statement from the Prime Minister's Office said Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand raised human rights with her Turkish counterpart in meetings on Thursday. Journalists asked Carney whether he personally raised concerns with Erdogan in their separate meeting, but he would not give specifics. "My approach on these issues is I have direct conversations with leaders," he said. "I find those conversations are more effective when they're direct and open and not then reported out in detail, but we have raised these issues."

Worries about the authoritarian tendencies of the Turkish government have partly overshadowed Carney's push to deepen trade ties. The prime minister wants Canada to depend less on the United States market and to diversify its trading partners. Most of that work so far has focused on Europe and the Indo-Pacific, though it has also reached other states with questionable human rights records, including Saudi Arabia recently.

After political talks in Ankara on Thursday, Carney began a series of meetings with business leaders in Istanbul. One deal under discussion is the possible sale of Canadian nuclear technology to Turkey as it works toward its climate goals. After the partnership signing, Carney told reporters there were now "good chances" that Canadian engineering firm AtkinsRealis would be chosen as a partner to build the two power plants Turkey is planning.

Carney also responded more forcefully on Friday to allegations that Canada has interfered in the U.S. midterm elections. On Thursday, the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa released a fact sheet formally accusing Canadian leaders of election meddling ahead of the Nov. 3 vote.

"There is no merit to these claims, so I'll call it out that way," Carney said. "I'm disappointed that their envoy sees that as his role to make these suggestions."

The prime minister added that Canada has a very deep diplomatic presence in the United States and plenty of contact with American companies, citizens and individuals. "As a country Canada is very, very careful to not be seen to interfere in the democratic process," he said.