Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney touched down in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, marking the first time a Canadian head of government has set foot in the kingdom in 26 years. The visit is part of Carney’s push to broaden his country’s economic relationships and reduce its heavy reliance on the United States as a trading partner.
During the trip, Carney is scheduled to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — the kingdom’s de facto ruler — on Thursday. He will also speak at the Saudi Arabia-Canada Investment Forum and take part in a signing ceremony.
The journey reflects Ottawa’s broader strategy to diversify trade and draw in new investment at a time when U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs and threats to the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement have put a spotlight on just how dependent Canada is on its southern neighbor.
Saudi Arabia, for its part, has been working to attract outside investment as Crown Prince Mohammed pursues a sweeping plan to shift the kingdom’s economy away from its reliance on oil revenue.
Nelson Wiseman, a professor emeritus at the University of Toronto, said that Trump’s unpredictable trade and foreign policies have pushed Carney to reach out “to others in a new and evolving world order.”
Canada and Saudi Arabia only recently repaired their diplomatic relationship, restoring full ties in 2023 after a years-long falling out. That dispute began in 2018 when Saudi Arabia expelled Canada’s ambassador and recalled its own after Canada’s Foreign Ministry publicly called for the release of imprisoned women’s rights activists. In response, Riyadh froze new trade and investment deals, sold off certain Canadian assets, and directed thousands of Saudi students studying in Canada to enroll elsewhere. Those activists have since been freed.
Also in 2018, Crown Prince Mohammed’s international standing took a serious hit following the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. A U.S. intelligence assessment that was declassified in 2021 concluded that the crown prince had likely approved the operation.
Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal, said the timing of Carney’s visit carries significance not only because of efforts to “diversify trade and help attract new foreign investments to Canada,” but also “because of the ongoing geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East” and the war in Iran.
“It seems increasingly clear that, for Mark Carney, trade and security are much more pressing concerns than human rights,” Béland said.
Wiseman offered a different perspective, noting that “Carney says he is taking the world as it is.” He added: “It doesn’t mean looking beyond human rights; it means being realistic about what preaching about it to authoritarian leaders can accomplish.”
