Carney Courts Saudi Investment in First Canadian Leader Visit to Kingdom in 26 Years

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Mark Carney’s arrival in Saudi Arabia carried more weight than a routine diplomatic stop. It marked the first visit by a Canadian prime minister to the kingdom in 26 years, landing at a moment when Ottawa is urgently trying to widen its economic options beyond the United States.

The visit placed Carney in Jeddah for meetings with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Saudi business leaders, with investment, energy, critical minerals, defence, infrastructure and technology all on the table. For Canada, the message was clear: old diplomatic fractures may still matter, but global trade pressure, regional instability and the search for new capital are pushing Ottawa toward a more practical foreign policy.

A Long-Awaited Reset in Jeddah

Carney’s visit stood out because of the long gap between prime ministerial trips. The previous Canadian prime ministerial visit to Saudi Arabia took place during Jean Chrétien’s Middle East tour in April 2000, making the 2026 stop a symbolic reset after more than two decades of caution, distance and diplomatic strain. Images from Jeddah showed the formal choreography of statecraft: airport greetings, senior Saudi officials, and Carney stepping into a relationship that had been largely rebuilt through ministerial visits before reaching the prime ministerial level.

The timing also mattered. Carney arrived after attending the NATO summit in Türkiye, linking the Saudi leg to a broader push around security, trade and strategic partnerships. Ottawa framed the visit around sectors where Canada wants to be seen as more than a commodity supplier: critical minerals, artificial intelligence, clean technology, agriculture, life sciences, tourism and infrastructure. In practical terms, the trip was designed to turn a repaired diplomatic relationship into business opportunities.

Why Saudi Investment Matters to Ottawa

Saudi Arabia is not just another market on Canada’s diplomatic map. It is the Arab world’s only G20 member, a major energy power and a country whose sovereign wealth ambitions give it influence well beyond the Gulf. Canadian officials describe the kingdom as a key economic and security partner, and the Saudi Public Investment Fund has become one of the most watched pools of capital in global finance. For a Canadian government trying to attract major investment into energy, infrastructure and advanced industries, Saudi attention is hard to ignore.

The relationship is already commercially meaningful, though still modest compared with Canada’s U.S. ties. In 2025, bilateral merchandise trade between Canada and Saudi Arabia totalled about $3.5 billion, including $1.3 billion in Canadian exports and $2.2 billion in imports. Canada’s top exports included motor vehicles and parts, industrial machinery, pharmaceuticals, and scientific and precision instruments. Energy products made up more than 92 percent of Canadian imports from Saudi Arabia, showing how the relationship remains anchored in oil even as both countries talk about diversification.

Diversification Becomes More Than a Slogan

Carney’s Saudi trip fit into a larger Canadian effort to reduce overdependence on the United States. The scale of that challenge is enormous. Canada’s merchandise exports to the U.S. fell as a share of total exports from 75.9 percent in 2024 to 71.7 percent in 2025, but the U.S. still remained Canada’s dominant export destination. Non-U.S. exports grew strongly in 2025, yet Canada’s economy remains deeply shaped by geography, supply chains and decades of continental integration.

That is why the Saudi visit carried a sharper edge than past trade missions. Washington’s tariff pressure and uncertainty around the Canada-U.S.-Mexico trade framework have made diversification feel less theoretical for Ottawa. Saudi Arabia cannot replace the U.S. market, but it can become part of a wider strategy: more investment sources, more export destinations, and more leverage in a world where Canada does not want every economic shock to arrive through the same border.

A Relationship Rebuilt After the 2018 Break

The warmth of the 2026 visit would have seemed unlikely eight years earlier. In 2018, Saudi Arabia expelled Canada’s ambassador and recalled its own after Canada called for the release of detained women’s rights activists. Riyadh froze new trade and investment, sold some Canadian assets and ordered thousands of Saudi students in Canada to leave or study elsewhere. The rupture became one of the most dramatic breakdowns in Canada’s Middle East diplomacy in recent memory.

Full diplomatic ties were restored in 2023, but the rebuilding took time. By 2025 and 2026, ministerial visits had resumed, economic conversations were moving again, and both countries were looking for areas where interests overlapped. That made Carney’s trip less of a sudden pivot than the visible peak of a longer repair job. Business leaders described the visit as a high-water mark for relations, a phrase that captures both the opportunity and the fragility of the moment.

Vision 2030 Opens Doors for Canadian Firms

Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 program is central to why Canada is paying attention. The kingdom is trying to diversify away from oil by building new industries, cities, tourism projects, logistics hubs and technology sectors. Its 2025 Vision 2030 reporting showed non-oil activity accounting for more than half of real GDP, while the IMF said Saudi GDP expanded by 4.5 percent in 2025, supported by oil production changes and strong non-oil activity. Those figures help explain why foreign governments are competing for a place in the Saudi growth story.

For Canadian companies, the most obvious opportunities line up with sectors where Canada already has credibility: mining expertise, clean technology, agriculture, education, health care, infrastructure and artificial intelligence. About 150 Canadian firms already have a long-term presence in Saudi Arabia, many with regional offices. A Prince Edward Island cleantech company working on wastewater solutions in desert sites is the kind of practical example Ottawa likes to highlight: specialized Canadian know-how applied to Saudi development needs.

Critical Minerals and Energy Move to the Front

Energy remains the old foundation of Canada-Saudi ties, but critical minerals are becoming a newer bridge. Saudi Arabia has been promoting mining as a major pillar of its diversification strategy, while Canada has been trying to position itself as a reliable supplier and processor of minerals needed for batteries, defence supply chains and clean technology. Carney’s schedule included meetings tied to Saudi Aramco and Ma’aden, the state-owned mining company, signalling that Ottawa sees the energy-minerals crossover as strategically important.

There is also a Canadian domestic angle. Ottawa wants foreign capital for major projects, but investors need projects that are approved, financeable and politically stable. Canada has world-class resource potential, yet permitting delays, Indigenous consultation requirements, infrastructure gaps and regulatory uncertainty often slow development. Saudi investment interest may be real, but it will only matter if Canada can present projects that are ready enough for serious capital. That is the difference between a headline and an actual cheque.

Defence and Security Add Weight to the Visit

The Saudi stop was not only about trade. Carney’s office linked the visit to defence and security partnerships, and the Canadian delegation included senior figures connected to finance, defence and defence investment. Coming directly after the NATO summit, the trip reinforced a larger message: Canada is trying to build partnerships across regions at a time when global security is becoming more uncertain and more expensive.

Saudi Arabia’s location adds to the significance. It sits near vital shipping routes and energy corridors, while tensions in the Middle East have repeatedly shown how regional crises can ripple into global fuel prices, insurance costs and trade routes. The IMF recently warned that disruption around the Strait of Hormuz could weigh on both oil and non-oil activity in Saudi Arabia. For Canada, that makes the kingdom not only a potential investor, but also a country whose stability has consequences for global markets.

Investment Rules Could Decide the Outcome

One of the least flashy parts of the Canada-Saudi relationship may be one of the most important: investment rules. Canada and Saudi Arabia agreed in 2025 to launch negotiations toward a Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement, often called a FIPA. Such agreements are meant to create clearer rules for investors, reduce uncertainty and make it easier for companies to commit capital across borders. Without that framework, even interested investors can hesitate.

Business leaders have also pointed to tax and legal frictions as barriers. If capital faces uncertainty over double taxation, dispute resolution or regulatory treatment, it can move elsewhere quickly. That matters because Saudi Arabia is not waiting for Canada alone; it is courting global firms, banks and governments at the same time. Canada’s challenge is to make the relationship easy enough to use. Diplomatic goodwill opens the door, but predictable rules decide whether companies and investors actually walk through it.

Human Rights Remain the Political Fault Line

Carney’s visit also carried political risk at home. Saudi Arabia’s human rights record remains a major concern for many Canadians, and the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi continues to shape international perceptions of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. A U.S. intelligence assessment released in 2021 concluded that the crown prince likely approved the operation, a finding that Saudi officials have rejected. That history makes any high-profile engagement with Riyadh sensitive.

The Canadian government’s argument is that engagement is not the same as endorsement. Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said human rights concerns and specific consular cases involving Canadians were raised during meetings with Saudi officials. That line reflects Carney’s broader realist approach: Canada can press values while also pursuing trade, investment and security interests. Critics will argue that money is taking priority over principle; supporters will argue that influence requires being in the room.

What Success Would Look Like After the Handshakes

The success of Carney’s visit will not be measured by ceremony alone. The real test will be whether Saudi capital moves into Canadian projects, whether Canadian firms gain contracts in Saudi Arabia, and whether both governments can complete practical agreements that outlast the news cycle. A stronger air transport agreement allowing more passenger flights and unlimited all-cargo flights shows how small technical changes can support larger commercial ties.

The broader stakes are even bigger. Canada is trying to prove that it can diversify trade without pretending geography no longer matters. Saudi Arabia is trying to prove that its post-oil transformation can attract trusted global partners. Carney’s visit brought those two ambitions into the same room. If the trip produces lasting investment, it could mark the start of a new phase in Canada-Saudi relations. If not, it may be remembered mainly as a symbolic reset after 26 years away.

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