Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, left, welcomes Prime Minister Mark Carney during an official ceremony in Ankara, Turkey's capital, on Thursday.

While in Istanbul this past week, Prime Minister Mark Carney struggled for a moment when asked to describe how he felt about limits that had been placed on Ukraine's access to the Starshield military-grade satellite network.

When he found his voice, he spoke about the "immense human suffering" of missile strikes on Kyiv and elsewhere.

"I search for the right adjective to describe whoever took this decision, or a group of people took this decision, against a country — and it's against a country that is literally fighting for the lives of its citizens against naked aggression."

Carney was, however, quick to turn it into an object lesson for Canadians who are skeptical of warming relations with authoritarian-leaning Turkey.

"We as Canadians do not want to be caught in a situation where we are reliant on one provider that may change their view, or may be forced to change their views, by one nation state that puts Canadians at risk — or compromises our sovereignty, our ability to express our values and live our values.”Carney says he is 'concerned' about reported Starlink slowdown in Ukraine October 23|Duration 3:10Prime Minister Mark Carney says he is concerned about the reported slowdown of SpaceX's Starlink satellite system in Ukraine, which created 'real consequences.'

He says Canadians likewise 'do not want to be caught in a situation where we are reliant on one provider that may change their view' and compromise Canadian sovereignty.

Early last week, Ukrainian officials said they had lost some of their access to Starshield , the military version of Starlink, the global satellite communications system owned and operated by Elon Musk's company SpaceX.

Ukraine employs Starshield to both track incoming missiles and jet-powered drones, and to guide interceptor and spy drones, while using Starlink for critical internal communications.

Without mentioning the United States or the Trump administration, Carney's reference was clear: We don't want to find ourselves in the same situation as Ukraine.

Canadian officials have made no secret of wanting to reduce reliance on Starlink in favour of a future Telesat system. 'Middle-power co-ordination' Much of Carney’s recent whirlwind trip to Istanbul and the Turkish capital, Ankara, was framed through the lens of the contradiction of values-based Canadians cosying up to a regime that shuts down opposition television stations, arrests journalists and attacks 2SLGBTQ+ advocates.

What was mentioned as part of a strategic partnership signed by Carney — but received far less scrutiny — is the burgeoning defence-industrial co-operation between the two countries, which arguably is an early test of Carney's geopolitical ambitions. Carney announces trade and defence partnership with Turkey "Canada-Turkey defence co-operation is an early test of whether the middle-power co-ordination the prime minister called for at Davos can produce anything more durable than a sequence of transactions,” wrote Tolga Demiryol, an associate professor of political science at Altınbaş University in Istanbul. He was referring to Carney's speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January.

A research paper penned by Demiryol was published on the Canadian Global Affairs Institute website in early October. Carney hails new trade, defence pact with Turkey October 23|Duration 1:48Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a new strategic trade and defence partnership between Canada and Turkey, as Ottawa continues its drive to tighten relations with other middle powers and fellow NATO members.

He said both countries now share a similar outlook when it comes to the defence industry as an instrument of national sovereignty.

"Canada is seeking to reduce the concentration of its defence procurement in the United States, while Turkey's industry was built through repeated efforts to escape foreign control over critical components and export permissions," Demiryol wrote.

"Turkey is courted today for two reasons: it has more to offer than it once did; and Canada has more reason than it once had to look beyond the United States."

Demiryol also said Carney is is not searching "for a replacement partner, but rather to reduce Canadian exposure to any single foreign supplier." Leap of faith In addition to it being an early test of Carney's middle-power strategy, the defence partnership represents a leap of faith.

Not many years have passed since the events that sent relations between Canada and Turkey into the wilderness.

In 2020, Turkish authorities applied for an exemption related to the importation of target acquisition gear, made by Canadian company Wescam, used in Turkey's Bayraktar drones.

Carney asked about Turkey's record on LGBTQ, human rights: 'Engagement is not approval' October 23|Duration 4:32Prime Minister Mark Carney, speaking from Turkey during a visit to announce increased economic and defence ties, said he has not met with rights' groups but did raise the issue during his visit, saying there are 'very few countries' that share 'the standards of Canada.'

Documents made public stated that Turkish authorities claimed they were using the cameras for reconnaissance activities related to NATO operations in the north of Syria.

But it was later discovered that the cameras were illegally diverted to Azerbaijan and used during the war in Nagorno-Karabakh. Human rights groups accused Turkey of lying to the Canadian government. Carney defends doing business with countries that don’t share Canada’s values The de facto arms embargo that resulted was lifted in early 2024 when Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs stopped presumptively denying arms export permits to the Middle Eastern country.

While trust has been restored, Carney made clear following talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that the agreement signed on Thursday does not mean unfettered exports and that permits will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

"We have standards, we have rules and we will follow them, we will continue to follow them," Carney said. 'A lot of lessons for us' So what's the attraction of Turkey's defence sector? The short answer is the country's capacity to go from reliance on foreign defence contractors to building its own equipment in a short period of time.

"An important point here, I believe that in Turkey, about 80 per cent of the defence needs of this country are produced here. This is not the case in Canada," Carney said. "So there are a lot of lessons for us on how we can create an industry in our country." It is also the type of military equipment that Turkey is building that makes it attractive.

A Turkish TB2 drone is seen in Golcuk, Turkey, on Aug. 21.

Drones are one example. The TB2, manufactured by Baykar — a private defence and tech company that Carney met with during his stop in Istanbul — proved itself in combat during the opening phase of the war in Ukraine by stopping Russian armoured columns with deadly precision strikes. The country is now manufacturing land and sea drones. It is also developing its own next-generation fighter jet, known as KAAN.

Carney didn't rule out buying Turkish military equipment such as the TB2 but suggested the country's know-how and ability to integrate technologies will be important as Canada expands it own industry.

"We're in a position where we're more in need of Turkish expertise in terms of reinforcing what we need to do to protect Canadians and to serve as a full NATO ally at this stage," Carney said. Investment in Canada Mike Ward, executive director of the Canada Turkey Business Council, said direct investment is another attractive aspect for the prime minister.

Last year, four major Turkish defence companies visited the Toronto Global Forum and pitched investment in Canada's aerospace sector, among others.

"They said, 'Look, we want to do business with Canada. And sure ... Canadian companies can invest in Turkey if you'd like. But we really want to invest in Canada,'" Ward said.

How are Trump’s Bombardier threats affecting Canada? September 8|Duration 1:47On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump declared that Quebec-based aerospace company Bombardier would no longer be able to sell planes in the U.S. Shares in the company fell in early trading, but regained some of those losses later in the day Tuesday. Officials say it's not just Bombardier employees in Canada who could be affected. "And those companies have been back. So they're looking to invest.

They're looking to invest in Ontario. They're looking to invest to Quebec."

In Europe, Baykar finalized the purchase of an Italian aerospace company, Piaggio, in June 2025. It is also in joint partnership with that country's leading aircraft maker, Leonardo, to build drones.

Demiryol, of Altınbaş University, said he sees shared production and joint rights as a possible way ahead for Canada and Turkey in this new relationship. But he said transparency will be key to making it work and avoiding the issues that led to the breakdown in relations.