Relationship dossier
Turkey
Canada
Relationship assessment
NATO allies with a bilateral strategic partnership and recurring disputes over arms exports and regional policy.
Turkey toward Canada
+10Turkey and Canada established a strategic partnership in 2010, providing a bilateral framework for cooperation. Turkey also works with Canada as a fellow NATO member, although known details of direct bilateral initiatives are limited.
Canada toward Turkey
+5Canada joined Turkey in establishing a strategic partnership in 2010. In 2020, Canada suspended arms-export permits after Canadian-made equipment was found in use in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict; it later introduced conditions for permits affecting Turkey.
Overall relationship
+10The enduring relationship combines a NATO alliance and a bilateral strategic-partnership framework with recurring friction over Canadian arms exports and regional policy. These features indicate a working but uneven partnership rather than either sustained confrontation or exceptionally close cooperation.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Turkey and Canada are NATO allies and established a bilateral strategic partnership in 2010. Their relationship also includes recurring disagreements over Canadian arms-export controls and Turkey-related regional and historical issues. The partnership provides a basis for cooperation, but these disputes and the limited scope of known bilateral initiatives support a measured assessment rather than a close-partnership characterization.
Areas of tension
- Canadian suspension and subsequent conditional approval of arms-export permits affecting Turkey.
- Disagreements over Turkey's regional military policies.
- Turkey's objections to Canadian recognition of the Armenian genocide.
Key developments
Turkey and Canada established a bilateral strategic partnership.
Canada suspended arms-export permits after Canadian-made equipment was found in use in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of bilateral cooperation under the strategic partnership are unclear.
- The current status and practical effects of Canadian arms-export controls affecting Turkey are unclear.