Tracking Canada's Trade Deals: Sorted By Type of Deal

Logo by Mike

By L.Kenway BComm CPB Retired
This is the year you get all your ducks in a row! Start by starting ... and keep it simple. Consistency beats perfection.

Published August 20, 2026 | Updated August 27, 2026

WHAT'S IN THIS ARTICLE 
Introduction | Trade Deals At A GlanceWhat This Means For Your Business | Understanding Stage 5 Ratification | Trade Deal Tracker | What Changed Recently | Appendix | Acronyms Used | References

BACK TO >> Navigating Change During Uncertainty
RELATED >>
Why Canada Is Changing Its Trade Strategy | Six Stages of A Trade Deal

Global network connections with logistics icons over a world map showing supply chainsPrime Minister Carney's government counts 20 'deals' on 5 continents signed since taking office in 2025.


Prime Minister Carney has repeatedly said that his government has signed 20 “economic and security deals” since taking office in 2025. That number gets repeated often, but it hides more than it reveals ... a signed, in-force trade agreement is a completely different thing from a framework that names future goals, and both are different again from a defence or investment pact.

I'm writing this article for two reasons.

First, I wanted to know what the actual deals were. Because I could not find an official list of the 20, I had to dig around and pull information from various sources to create the list. I believe the 20 I've identified are the deals Carney was referring to.

Second, I wanted to test whether these trips produced agreements with real teeth, or were they just photo ops and memorandums of understanding. So alongside counting the deals, I decided to track the status of each deal for a more complete picture.

Once I started counting, I ran into a problem. The Carney government has been busy, and the list of deals at various stages kept growing while I was writing. So instead of picking one date and freezing the count, I settled on tracking these 20 deals as my baseline. Any deal identified after that point is marked with a + so you can tell the original 20 apart from what's been added since.

As you read the trade deal tracker, you may notice more than one CEPA, or more than one CPTPP accession.

  • A CEPA repeats because it's a type of deal, not a specific one; Canada can have a separate CEPA with Indonesia, India, and the UAE, each negotiated on its own. 
  • CPTPP is different. It's one shared agreement that countries join one at a time, more like acceding to a treaty than negotiating a new deal from scratch. When the UK or Costa Rica "accedes" to CPTPP, they're signing onto rules Canada already agreed to years ago, not creating a new bilateral relationship. No single country runs CPTPP. It's a treaty among equal members (Canada is one of twelve), and every current member has to separately ratify each new country that joins.

One final point. I've included a few non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). In international diplomacy, an MOU is almost never the final destination. It is the catalyst designed to spark something else. So MOUs are sometimes the equivalent to a 🔴 Diplomatic Outreach.

Trade Deals At A Glance

Signed And In Force

1. Canada-Indonesia CEPA
2. UAE FIPA
3. UK-CPTPP Accession +

In Negotiation
4. Canada-UAE CEPA +
5. Costa Rica-CPTPP Accession +
6. Canada–United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement (CUKFTA)
7. Canada–Philippines Free Trade Agreement (CPFTA)
8. Canada–ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (ACAFTA)
9. Canada–Thailand Free Trade Agreement (CTFTA)
10. Canada–Mercosur Free Trade Agreement (FTA)
11. Canada–India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (India CEPA)
12. Canada–Turkiye (formerly Turkey) Free Trade Agreement (FTA) +

Strategic Partnership Frameworks
13. Canada–EU Comprehensive Strategic Partnership of the Future
14. Canada-Japan Comprehensive Strategic Partnership
15. Australia–Canada–India Technology & Innovation (ACITI) Partnership +
16. Canada–Mexico Action Plan 2025–2028
17. Canada–Qatar Strategic Investment and Economic Partnership
18. Canada–Saudi Arabia Strategic Framework & Investment Partnership +
19. Canada–Philippines Strategic Partnership Framework
20. China Interim Tariff Reset
21. India-Cameco Uranium Deal +
22. Canada-Spain Sovereign AI Deal +
23. Canada-India Economic and Financial Dialogue +

Defence, Security & Sector Cooperation
24. South Korea – Security and Defence Cooperation Partnership
25. South Korea – Critical Minerals/Future Mobility MOU
26. Australia – Over-the-Horizon Radar Partnership
27. Australia – Critical Minerals Cooperation
28. Norway – Joint Statement on Strategic Cooperation
29. Ireland – Joint Statement on Advancing the Canada-Ireland Partnership
30. Canada–Qatar ICT Cooperation MOU +
31. Canada–Germany Sovereign Technology Alliance +
32. Canada–Spain AI Cooperation MOU +
33. Canada–UAE AI/Emerging-Technology Cooperation +
34. Poland-Marconi Radio Deal +

New Multilateral Institutions
1. G7 Critical Minerals (Resilience and) Production Alliance +
2. Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB) +
3. SAFE (Security Action for Europe) +


What This Means for Your Business

It's tempting to read the list below as five real wins (🤝 or 💼) and fifteen+ placeholders. That undersells what's actually happening in my opinion.

Frameworks, negotiations, and cooperation pacts are how deals get built. Governments open the door, set the terms of engagement, and signal where they want capital and trade to flow next. But no government signs a contract on a business's behalf. Indonesia's CEPA and the UAE's FIPA didn't start as finished agreements either; they started exactly where Saudi Arabia and Qatar are now.

The groundwork matters because it's the only way the next five 'signed and in force' items get created ... but only if businesses actually show up and use them. The type of agreement tells you how ready an opportunity is today, not whether it's worth watching.

In this tracker, I am going to use 🤝 to mean the government deal is in force and 💼 to indicate the commercial deal is in force.

Understanding Stage 5: Ratification

Every trade deal moves through six stages: Diplomatic Outreach, Framework, Negotiation, Signing, Ratification, and Implementation. But not every agreement moves through all six stages in exactly the same way. Not all international agreements follow a legislative path. Let's see which ones bypass the ratification process and why:

  • Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) & Treaties: These are legally binding under international law and change domestic laws or tariffs. They require formal legislative ratification by Parliament (✅ Stage 5. Ratification).
  • MOUs, Joint Statements, & Strategic Partnerships: These are usually non-binding political and administrative handshakes. They use existing government authority to launch programs immediately without changing laws. They bypass legislative ratification and enter into force on the day they are signed ( ✍️ Stage 4. Signing → ✅ Stage 5. Ratification happens simultaneously ... or ✅ Stage 5 may not apply as a separate step at all).

But be aware, not all agreements with the term Partnership in them can bypass ratification. Why? Because they are really FTAs in disguise. Two examples of this are CPTPP and CETA.

That's why you will see different combinations of ✍️ Signing, ✅ Ratification, and 🟢 Implementation dates in the tracker. The dates show what actually happened for each commitment rather than forcing every agreement into an identical sequence.

Legend: Trade Deal Stages

🔴 1. Diplomatic Outreach  🟡 2. Framework  🟠 3. Negotiation 
✍️ 4. Signing  ✅ 5. Ratification  🟢 6. Implementation

The Trade Deal Tracker

JUMP TO >> Signed & In Force | In Negotiation | Strategic Partners | Defence & Security | New Multilateral Institutions

This tracker, which I originally created as a simple list, has become much more useful. It sorts all 20 (and counting) by what kind of commitment each one actually is, not by which country it's with, so you can see at a glance what's usable today and what's still a promise.

What I noticed putting this together was that the tracker is making the scale and coordination of the work much easier to see than a conventional list of trade agreements does. The amount of work being done, and the speed at which it is being done, is jaw dropping to me when presented in this format.


A: Signed And In Force International Trade Deals (2 +1)

This is where a government-to-government agreement has changed the rules for all Canadian businesses trading with a particular country: lower tariffs, guaranteed market access, or investor protections written into law.

That's a different thing from a signed commercial contract like the India-Cameco uranium deal or the Poland-Marconi radio deal. Those are real, in-force agreements too (🟢), but they're deals between one company and one buyer. They don't change the rules for anyone else. You'll find them listed under the partnership or sector they grew out of, not here, because there's nothing in them for a business that isn't Cameco or Marconi to act on.

Here are the items on this list a business can act on today. Watch for it to grow over the coming year.

  1. 🇨🇦 🤝 🇮🇩 Canada-Indonesia CEPA
    Canada’s first-ever bilateral trade agreement with an ASEAN country, reducing or eliminating tariffs on more than 97% of current Canadian exports there. [Source: 1, pm.gc.ca]

    🟠 2021
    ✍️ September 24, 2025
    ✅ May 6, 2026 (Bill C-18)
    🟢 Sept 24, 2025

  2. 🇨🇦 🤝 🇦🇪 UAE FIPA 
    FIPA (Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement). The $70 billion investment commitment is intended for large-scale Canadian infrastructure, AI, and energy projects. This is separate from UAE CEPA now in negotiation, see Section B. [Source: 2, pm.gc.ca] 

    🟠 2016
    ✍️ November 20, 2025
    ✅ May 19, 2026
    🟢 May 19, 2026

  3. 🇨🇦 🤝 🇬🇧 UK-CPTPP Accession +
    Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) – United Kingdom Accession Protocol [Source: 3, Global Affairs Canada]

    🟠 2021
    ✍️ July 16, 2023
    ✅ July 3, 2026
    🟢 September 1, 2026 (Official Entry into Force)




B: In Negotiation (6 +3)

Talks are underway, with real terms being worked out ... but nothing is signed yet. Every deal here is working toward a full FTA or CEPA: broad tariff cuts and market access. They're not there yet, but that's the destination.

Talks are underway, with real terms being worked out ... but nothing is signed yet.

  1. 🇨🇦 🤝 🇦🇪 UAE CEPA +
    UAE CEPA (Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement). This is the free trade agreement for tariff reductions, market access, trade in goods and services, separate from UAE FIPA in Section A. [Source: 4, Global Affairs]

    🟠 concluded July 24, 2026 in 47 days — the fastest negotiation Canada has completed
    ✍️ not yet signed

  2. 🇨🇦 🇨🇷 Costa Rica-CPTPP Accession +
    Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) – Costa Rica Accession Protocol [Source: 5, Global Affairs]

    🔴 August 10, 2022 🟡 November, 28 2024 🟠 November 2024 to May 6, 2026
    ✍️ Target Milestone: Following conclusion of negotiations in May 2026, the deal is undergoing final legal verification, targeting official signing by late 2026 or early 2027.

    Status Note: Canada and Costa Rica have shared a basic free trade agreement since 2002 (CCRFTA). Carney's administration pushed for the conclusion of the CPTPP track specifically to unlock modern high-value sectors (such as government procurement, cross-border digital services, and clean technologies investments) which were missing from the old bilateral deal.

  3. 🇨🇦🇬🇧 Canada–United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement (CUKFTA)
     Talks on digital trade, financial services, defence procurement, possible AUKUS (Australia, United Kingdom, United States) role [Source: 6, Global Affairs]

    🔴 March 24, 2022 🟡 Paused January 2024 🟠 No new rounds initiated
    ✍️ Major Milestone: None published. The UK's CPTPP accession takes full effect September 1, 2026, which will put a shared rulebook in place between Canada and the UK for the first time — how that affects the paused bilateral track, including unresolved issues like UK dairy/cheese market access, has not yet been addressed by either government.

    Status Note: Dedicated bilateral negotiations to permanently replace the active 2021 Canada-UK Trade Continuity Agreement (TCA). Once CUKFTA is finalized, the temporary TCA goes away completely. Runs completely parallel to, and independent of, the multilateral CPTPP bloc. Negotiations have been paused since January 2024 over a standoff on UK agriculture market access (beef hormones and cheese); no resumption has been announced as of this writing. Canada's July 2026 ratification of the UK's CPTPP accession does not appear to have changed that status. [Source: 7, BBC News]

  4. 🇨🇦🇵🇭 Canada–Philippines Free Trade Agreement (CPFTA)
    Bilateral trade agreement targeting market access and tariff elimination. Runs alongside the broader Philippines Strategic Partnership Framework, which the PMO describes as accelerating this FTA track rather than replacing it. [Source: 8, pm.gc.ca]

    🔴 December 2024  🟡 October 27, 2025
    🟠 February 18–20, 2026 (first round) 🟠 April 15–16, 2026 (second round) 🟠 July 27 – August 4, 2026 (third round)
    ✍️ Target Milestone: Confirmed 4th round in September aims to stabilize the text and remaining market access issues, targeting a final treaty signing in late 2026. Several chapters were finalize in round three.

    Status Note: Status Note: Talks began as a stated intent to launch FTA negotiations (Oct 2025). A July 2026 meeting upgraded this into a full Strategic Partnership spanning trade, energy, defence, and tourism. The visit produced two MOUs (tourism, cultural exchange 2026-2031) and two Joint Declarations of Intent (Energy and Natural Resources Cooperation; Labour and Migration). A Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SoVFA) was signed in November 2025 and ratified by the Philippine Senate August 11, 2026.
  5. 🇨🇦🌏 Canada–ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (ACAFTA)
    An ongoing initiative to create a comprehensive trade pact between Canada and the ten member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations [Source: 9, pm.gc.ca]

    🔴 September 8, 2017 🟡 November 16, 2021 🟠 Ongoing 2026 highly active
    ✍️ Target Milestone: Scheduled for substantial conclusion by the end of 2026.

  6. 🇨🇦🇹🇭 Canada–Thailand Free Trade Agreement (CTFTA)
    Formal steps and discussions are underway to establish a bilateral pact.

    🔴 October 30, 2025 🟡 January 27, 2026 🟠 February 13, 2026 start date
    ✍️ Target Milestone: Both nations are pacing this alongside the broader ASEAN track, targeting text stabilization by late 2026. [Source: 10, Global Affairs]

  7. 🇨🇦🌎 Canada–Mercosur Free Trade Agreement (FTA)
    Canada is currently negotiating a comprehensive FTA with Mercosur. Mercosur is a South American economic and political trade bloc established in 1991. Its full members are Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Bolivia, with Venezuela currently suspended. The longest-horizon item on this tracker. [Source 11, Global Affairs]

    🔴 March 2018 🟡 August 2025 restarted 🟠 February 23–27, 2026 (round 8)
    ✍️ Target Milestone: Actively pushing to close the entire deal before the end of 2026.

    Status Note: As of March 2026, Colombia (currently an associate member) is seeking full membership, and Venezuela is seeking to have its suspension lifted and rejoin as a full member. [Source: 12, MercoPress]

  8. 🇨🇦🇮🇳 India-CEPA
    Canada–India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement 
    Separate from the Cameco contract in Section A,  [Source: 13, pm.gc.ca]

    🔴 November 23, 2025 🟡 March 2, 2026 🟠 July 6–10, 2026
    ✍️ Target Milestone: Reaffirmed at the G7 Summit on June 16, 2026, both nations are actively working toward final text closure by the end of 2026.

    Status Note: Carney's March 2, 2026 India visit produced five MOUs (critical minerals, energy, tech/AI, talent, culture).

  9. 🇨🇦🇹🇷 Canada–Turkiye (formerly Turkey) Free Trade Agreement (FTA) +
    Launched FTA negotiations on the margins of the NATO Summit in Ankara. [Source: 14, pm.gc.ca]

    🔴 March 2026 (Foreign ministers meeting) 🟡 June 9, 2026 🟠 launched July 7, 2026
    ✍️ Target Milestone: None published yet.

    Status Notes: Canada is looking to sign three major trade deals before the end of the year with Mercosur, ASEAN and India. There was no mention of Turkiye.



 What Does Formal Trade Negotiations Mean?

Trade negotiations don't usually mean that ministers have simply agreed to start talking. Formal negotiations are organized into rounds, where negotiating teams meet for a defined period to work through specific chapters of the agreement or issues.

That distinction matters when reading the tracker. Governments can be having diplomatic conversations or doing preliminary work behind the scenes without having formally entered the negotiation stage.

For example: Canada and the Philippines are targeting an FTA conclusion by the end of 2026, but the status of the talks matters more than the target date. Likewise, Canada and the United States can be discussing the future of CUSMA before formal negotiations have actually begun.

A target date isn't the same thing as a 🟠 negotiation round.

C: Strategic Partnership Frameworks (6 +4)

A strategic partnership framework isn't one thing. It's whatever doesn't rise to the level of a comprehensive trade agreement. Most are exactly what the name suggests: two governments agreeing on areas to cooperate (trade, energy, defence) without committing to binding terms yet. An agreement to keep talking rather than the deal itself.

A few in this section go further. Canada's partnership with the EU already comes with access to a specific €150-billion procurement fund. The China tariff reset already changed real tariff rates. The Cameco contract is already a signed, binding $2.6-billion sale. What none of these has is the breadth of an FTA or CEPA: broad, economy-wide tariff cuts and market access across many sectors at once. They're real, sometimes binding, commitments, just narrow ones, carved out of a single sector or program rather than a whole trading relationship.

  1. 🇨🇦 🤝 🇪🇺 Canada–EU Comprehensive Strategic Partnership of the Future
    Runs directly parallel to CETA. Unlike other entries in this section, it carries a concrete commitment. Canada became the first non-EU country to gain access to Europe's €150-billion SAFE military procurement fund. [Source: 15, pm.gc.ca]
     
    🟡 June 23, 2025 (appointing a dedicated Personal Representative, John Hannaford, to the EU to manage the strategy on Canada's behalf)
    ✍️ February 14, 2026 SAFE Instrument signed
    🟢 March 11, 2026 (European Parliament Country Report - The European Parliament adopted its first dedicated country report on Canada in over a decade, calling for deeper EU-Canada cooperation on security, trade, and critical supply chains, and welcoming Canada's SAFE participation)
    🟢 June 11, 2026 June 11, 2026 (Canada and the European Commission met, agreeing on a first set of concrete steps under the Canada-EU Industrial Policy Dialogue and agreeing to examine reciprocal market access opportunities in the context of the Buy Canadian Policy, consistent with CETA)
    ✅ June 15, 2026 SAFE Instrument ratified (Council of the European Union's formal conclusion and adoption)
    🟢 June 15, 2026 (Operational Launch - Canada's participation in the SAFE instrument formally takes effect, making it the first non-European country to participate; the agreement covers Canadian companies and Canadian-origin products in SAFE procurement).

  2. 🇨🇦 🤝 🇯🇵 Canada-Japan Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP)
    Serves as a large macro-level strategic framework designed to pull pre-existing sector-specific agreements under one single political umbrella. This framework runs parallel to the CPTPP. [Source; 16, pm.gc.ca]

    🟡 March 6, 2026
    ✍️ March 6, 2026
    🟢 March 6, 2026 (Operational Launch - Formally launched bilateral Cyber Policy and Economic Security dialogues to counter regional supply chain vulnerabilities).
    🟢 June 23, 2026 (Trade Mission Integration - Canada deployed a Team Canada Trade Mission to Tokyo, mobilizing Canadian businesses across clean tech, defense infrastructure, and agriculture).
    🟢 June 25, 2026 (Industrial Defense Sync - Minister McGuinty traveled to Tokyo to structurally integrate Canadian shipbuilders and defense manufacturers directly into the joint technology transfer pipeline).

  3. 🇨🇦 🤝 🇦🇺 🤝 🇮🇳 Australia–Canada–India Technology & Innovation (ACITI) Partnership +
    A trilateral partnership focused on cooperation in critical and emerging technologies, including AI, clean-energy innovation and resilient supply chains for critical minerals. [Source: 17, pm.gc.ca]

    🟡 November 22, 2025
    ✍️ July 10, 2026
    🟢 July 10, 2026

  4. 🇨🇦 🤝 🇲🇽 Canada–Mexico Action Plan 2025–2028 
    An advanced strategic roadmap that elevates bilateral relations into a formal Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP). It's a three-year plan built on four pillars. This plan runs parallel to CUSMA. [Source:18, pm.gc.ca]

    🟡 September 18, 2025
    ✍️ September 18, 2025
    🟢 October 14, 2025 (Agricultural Implementation Track - Ministers of Agriculture met to launch active scientific and tech exchanges, formalizing eased import requirements for Canadian agri-food trade)
    🟢 February 15–20, 2026 (Trade Mission Mobilization - Minister Dominic LeBlanc deployed a Team Canada Trade Mission to structurally align Canadian tech and industrial exporters with Mexican supply chains).
    🟢 July 17, 2026 (Security and Diplomatic Update - Foreign Affairs Ministers met to activate funded projects executing the Anti-Crime Capacity Building Program and the Canada-Mexico Security Dialogue).

  5. 🇨🇦 🤝🇶🇦 Canada–Qatar Strategic Investment and Economic Partnership 
    Financial framework where Qatar's sovereign wealth fund commits to backing Canada’s major public transit, green energy, and advanced computing infrastructure pipelines. This arrangement runs parallel to the upcoming FIPA. [Source: 19, pm.gc.ca]

    🟡 January 18, 2026
    ✍️ January 18, 2026
    🟢 January 18, 2026 (Operational Launch - The Joint Canada-Qatar Commission on Economic, Commercial, and Technical Cooperation).
    🟢 May 15, 2026 (Strategic Dialogue Integration - Anita Anand executes a follow-up ministerial memo structurally syncing security and economic investment priorities.
    🟢 June 25, 2026 (Public Safety Sync - Public Safety Canada signs a five-year transnational tracking MOU with Qatar to protect shared asset data and computing infrastructure.)

  6. 🇨🇦 🤝🇸🇦 Canada–Saudi Arabia Strategic Framework & Investment Partnership +
    This high-level political framework officially restores diplomatic and economic relations, prioritizing significant Saudi investment into Canadian mining, infrastructure, and defense. While the partnership is active (Stage 6), critical investment treaties (FIPA) are currently undergoing negotiation (Stage 3) and will require future parliamentary ratification. [Source: 20, pm.gc.ca]

    🟡 December 2025
    ✍️ July 9, 2026
    🟢 July 9, 2026 (Operational Launch - Formally activated the new Coordination Council to manage future capital alignments).
    🟢 July 9, 2026 (Commercial Deal Influx - 13 private commercial deals worth $1 billion+ CAD were signed across infrastructure, defence, and mining).
    🟢 July 21, 2026 (AI and Tax Operational Tracks - The Department of Finance formally launched public consultations to initiate the newly announced Double Taxation Agreement (DTA) negotiations).
    🟠 July 2026 (Double Taxation Status)
    🟠 Early 2027 (FIPA Status)

    Status Note: PM Carney visited Jeddah July 8–10, 2026. The first visit to the Kingdom by a Canadian PM in 26 years. Bilateral trade has topped $20 billion USD since 2020. A signing ceremony at the Saudi Arabia-Canada Investment Forum brought Canadian firms including Hatch and AtkinsRéalis together with Saudi counterparts. 13 commercial agreements and MOUs worth over $1 billion CAD were signed. Canada will host its first-ever Investment Summit in Toronto this September, with Saudi investors invited. [Source 38, Canadian Press]

  7. 🇨🇦 🤝 🇵🇭 Canada–Philippines Strategic Partnership Framework
    This agreement is already signed and active, meaning it has bypassed ratification and is moving through implementation. Per the PMO, the partnership acts as a broader framework accelerating economic, energy, and defence cooperation, directly supporting the ongoing CPFTA negotiation rather than replacing it. [Source: 21, pm.gc.ca]

    🟡 October 27, 2025
    ✍️ July 2, 2026
    🟢 July 2, 2026 (Operational Launch - Formally launched the Joint Declaration on Energy Cooperation and the Joint Declaration on Labour Mobility).
    🟢 July 3, 2026 (Tourism Implementation Track - Minister Valdez signed a dedicated follow-up MOU on Tourism Cooperation).
    🟢 July 23, 2026 (Action Plan Launch - Foreign Minister Anita Anand met with Philippine officials in Manila to officially open drafting negotiations for the forward-looking Plan of Action 2026–2030).

  8. 🇨🇦 🤝 🇨🇳 China Interim Tariff Reset
    Targeted tariff adjustments on EVs, canola, lobster, peas, and canola meal. It is a mutual regulatory adjustment/policy directive, not a formal bilateral treaty framework. Canada cut EV tariffs from 100% to 6.1%, in exchange for China rolling back duties on Canadian canola, lobster, peas, and canola meal. [Source: 22, Global Affairs]

    🟢 Jan 16, 2026  

    Status Note: Bilateral trade working groups are monitoring the initial phase of reciprocal agricultural and EV tariff reductions, targeting a comprehensive evaluation report by late 2026 to determine if the measures will be expanded or modified.

  9. 🇨🇦 💼 🇮🇳 India-Cameco Uranium Deal +
    This is a corporate supply contract between a private/public corporation (Cameco) and a foreign state. Saskatoon-based Cameco's $2.6 billion uranium supply contract covers the years 2027 through 2035. [Source: 13, pm.gc.ca]

    🟢 Mar 2, 2026

    Status Note: With the 9-year commercial contract officially signed, the first physical shipments of Canadian uranium are scheduled for export to Indian nuclear power facilities in early 2027, under strict international safeguards.

  10. 🇨🇦 💼 🇪🇸 Canada-Spain Sovereign AI Deal +
    This is a commercial deployment and technology partnership bundle that operates underneath the intergovernmental Canada–Spain Artificial Intelligence Cooperation MOU. It functions as an active private-public ecosystem project featuring Spain's Indra Group alongside Canada's Cohere, Coveo, and Multiverse Computing to build sovereign enterprise models and defense-interoperability tech. [Source: 23, GlobeNewswire]

    🟢 May 20, 2026

  11. 🇨🇦🇮🇳 Canada-India Economic and Financial Dialogue +
    A new bilateral mechanism to establish ongoing dialogue on macroeconomic developments, financial-sector cooperation, bilateral investment, and shared international priorities, separate from the tariff-line negotiations. [Source: 43, Dept of Finance]

    🟡 August 27, 2026 

D: Defence, Security & Sector Cooperation (6 + 5)

South Africa

Despite South Africa's G20 investment talks, nuclear cooperation, G7 critical minerals endorsement, few actual trade initiatives have emerged.

These remain the least concrete deals on the list, per Globe and Mail reporting [24].

This section is about real, active cooperation. These are agreements built around one specific domain, defence, security, a named technology, rather than an entire bilateral relationship. They don't touch tariffs or market access, but unlike a broad framework, they're usually operational quickly because there's only one thing to coordinate.

  1. 🇨🇦 🤝 🇰🇷 South Korea 
    Security and Defence Cooperation Partnership: intelligence-sharing, classified military information agreement. [Source: 25, Global Affairs]

    🟡 October 29, 2025
    ✍️ February 25, 2026  
    🟢 June 12, 2026 (Operational Launch)
    🟢 Mid-July 2026 (Cybersecurity Integration)
    🟢 Early August 2026 (Industrial Alignment)

  2. 🇨🇦 🤝 🇰🇷 South Korea 
    Critical Minerals/Future Mobility MOU: 
    sits alongside the 2015 Canada-South Korea FTA. [Source: 26, Natural Resources Canada]

    🟡 October 15, 2025
    ✍️ January 29, 2026  
    🟢 June 2, 2026 (Ministerial Joint Progress Launch)
    🟢 Ongoing 2026 (Stockpiling Plan Draft Collaboration)

    Status Note: Mining and financial regulators from both nations are finalizing a synchronized capital deployment framework, targeting the formal launch of co-investment pipelines into supply chain infrastructure by mid-2027.

  3. 🇨🇦 🤝 🇦🇺 Australia
    Over-the-Horizon Radar Partnership: full operation targeted for December 2029. [Source: 27, CAF]
     
    🟡 March 2026
    ✍️ June 22, 2026  
    🟢 July 1, 2026 (Hardware Work Commenced)
    🟢 July 15, 2026 (Site Validation Phase Activated)

  4. 🇨🇦 🤝 🇦🇺 Australia 
    Critical Minerals Cooperation: 
    lithium, rare earths, uranium. Runs through G7 Critical Minerals Production Alliance rather than as a separate bilateral track. [Source: 28, pm.gc.ca]

    🟡 October 31, 2025
    ✍️ October 31, 2025 
    🟢 March 5, 2026 Joins G7 Critical Minerals Production Alliance (Ongoing implementation Canada-Australia Mining Skills Exchange Pilot)

  5. 🇨🇦 🤝 🇳🇴 Norway 
    Canada–Norway Joint Statement on Strategic Cooperation: Arctic, defence, critical minerals, and clean energy cooperation. [Source: 29, Natural Resources Canada]

    🟡 February 19, 2026
    ✍️ March 14, 2026  
    🟢 March 15, 2026 (Military Space Protocol Integration)
    🟢 April 2026 (Bilateral Arctic Dialogue Framework Established)
    🟢 May 2026 (Kongsberg Commercial Naval Contract Activation)

  6. 🇨🇦 🤝 🇮🇪 Ireland 
    Joint Statement on Advancing the Canada-Ireland Partnership: An all-encompassing strategic partnership of (a) pairing Canada's AI for All strategy with Ireland's Digital Ireland strategy, (b) alongside standalone Life Sciences MOUs for biomanufacturing talent pipelines and biotech commercialization. [Source: 30, pm.gc.ca]

    🟡 Spring 2026
    ✍️ June 13, 2026
    🟢 June 13, 2026 (Operational Launch — Structured framework enacted across 13 target innovation streams)
    🟢 June 16, 2026 (Biomanufacturing Talent Sync - Canada's CASTL and Ireland's NIBRT officially activated their joint workforce training pipeline)
    🟢 Late July 2026 (AI Compliance Framework — Legal sync established between the Canada Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute and Ireland’s AI Office

  7. 🇨🇦 🤝 🇶🇦 Quatar
    Canada–Qatar Information & Communications Technology Cooperation MOU +
    A framework for cooperation across priority digital sectors, including research and development, cloud computing, AI ecosystems, support for startups and SMEs, regulatory exchanges, technology events and investment dialogue. [Source: 19, pm.gc.ca]

    🟡 October 15, 2025
    ✍️ January 2026
    🟢 January 2026

    Status Notes: This is the tech component of the broader Canada–Qatar Strategic Investment and Economic Partnership listed above.

  8. 🇨🇦 🤝 🇩🇪 Germany
    Canada–Germany Sovereign Technology Alliance +
    A technology partnership focused on strengthening sovereign AI capacity and reducing strategic technology dependencies, with cooperation on secure compute infrastructure, AI research and commercialization, talent development and other advanced technologies. [Source: 31, ISED]

    🟡 December 8, 2025
    ✍️ February 14, 2026
    🟢 February 14, 2026

  9. 🇨🇦 🤝 🇪🇸 Spain
    Canada–Spain Artificial Intelligence Cooperation MOU +
    A framework for cooperation on AI, including access to compute capacity, AI and technology adoption, connections among governments and industry, and the safe and responsible development and deployment of AI. [Source: 32, ISED]

    🟡 Early May 2026
    ✍️ May 20, 2026
    🟢 May 20, 2026

    Status Notes: This is the non-binding framework that served as a diplomatic catalyst. It lead to the Canada-Spain Sovereign AI Deal. That deal is a commercial deployment and technology partnership bundle.

  10. 🇨🇦 🤝 🇦🇪 UAE
    Canada–UAE Investment Cooperation in Data Centres & Artificial Intelligence MOU +
    A framework to facilitate investment and cooperation in digital infrastructure and AI, including technical expertise, investment in advanced technologies, and development and deployment of safe and responsible AI. [Source: 33, ISED]

    🟡 September 2025
    ✍️ October 14, 2025
    🟢 October 14, 2025

    Status Note: This is the non-binding framework that served as a diplomatic catalyst. It accelerated the timelines for the binding FIPA (Active May 19, 2026) and current CEPA trade negotiations.

  11. 🇨🇦 💼 🇵🇱 Poland-Marconi Radio Deal +
    This is explicitly a military procurement contract that operates underneath the EU's SAFE (Security Action for Europe) initiative. It's an example of an active project flowing out of Canada's broader EU defense alignment. [Source: 34, pm.gc.ca]

    🟢 June 15, 2026  

    Status Note: Announced at the June 2026 G7 Leaders' Summit in Évian, France. Marconi will build tactical radios for Poland's Cyber Command through 2030.

E:  Multilateral and Variable Institutions - Variable Geometry (0+3)

Everything above this section is Canada plus one other country. This section is different. It's Canada joining, or building, a standing institution with its own membership that other countries join too.

PM Carney has a name for this pattern: "variable geometry." At Davos in January 2026, he described building "coalitions that work, issues by issue, with partners who share enough common ground to act together," rather than one all-purpose alliance.

What this section is not:

  • Not a trade agreement. No tariff schedule, no market-access commitment, no rules of origin. That's Sections A and B, even CPTPP accession is still just a shared rulebook of trade terms.
  • Not a bilateral framework. Section C is Canada + one other country agreeing to cooperate. Everything here has an open membership roster that other countries join independently of Canada.
  • Not a single contract. Section A's callout and Cameco/Marconi cover one-off deals between specific parties. These institutions keep running and keep admitting new members after the fact.

What it is: Canada pooling money, coordinating action, or buying into standing capacity, alongside a growing list of other countries, none of which changes a tariff or opens a market on its own.

  1. 🇨🇦 🤝 G7 Critical Minerals (Resilience and) Production Alliance +
    A Canada-led G7 initiative that came out of the 2025 G7 Leaders' Summit to diversify critical minerals supply chains and counter market concentration. Envoys from each member country coordinate. Canada mobilizes capital and secures off-take agreements with trusted partners. [Source: 35, Natural Resources Canada]

    🟡 June 2025
     ✍️ October 31, 2025
    🟢 October 31, 2025 (first implementation round, Toronto: 26 projects, $6.4B unlocked; Canada-Australia JDI signed same day)
    🟢 March 2, 2026 (second round, PDAC Convention: 30 more partnerships, $12.1B)
    🟢 June 17, 2026 (broadened at G7 Summit, Évian: Australia formally joins; 13 more partnerships; $19.2B total across 69 partnerships to date)

  2. 🇨🇦 🤝 Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB) +
    A new multilateral financial institution, Canada-led, that will mobilize and deploy private capital for defence, security, and resilience initiatives. Canada will host its headquarters. [Source: 36 pm.gc.ca]

    🟡 April 2026
    ✍️ July 7, 2026
    🟢 not in force yet; targeting 2027 to be operational

    Status Notes: Announced at the 2026 NATO Summit. The founding members are Albania, Belgium, Canada, Greece, Latvia, Luxembourg, Romania, Turkiye (formerly Turkey), Ukraine.

  3. 🇨🇦 🤝 SAFE (Security Action for Europe) +
    The EU's €150-billion military procurement fund. Unlike the two above, Canada didn't build this one; Canada joined it. Canada becomes the first non-EU country granted access, as part of the Canada-EU Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. [Source: 37 EU Council]

    🟠 December 2025
    ✍️ February 14, 2026
    ✅ June 15, 2026 (Council of the EU)
    🟢 June 15, 2026

Canadian flage flying in front of Parliament Building in Ottawa symbolizing

What Changed Recently

Competitive Procurement Process vs. Trade Deal Process

On July 6, 2026, Germany's TKMS (ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems) was named preferred bidder for Canada's largest-ever defence procurement (up to 12 new submarines). TKMS beat out South Korea's Hanwha. A KPMG analysis, commissioned by Hanwha, said the bigger economic package would deliver roughly $70 billion in economic effects and more than 22,000 jobs a year through 2044.

NATO alliance priorities and Arctic operational synergies outweighed the alternative competitive bid, despite a robust industrial and delivery proposal from South Korea. It's my understanding that TKMS already builds the Type 212CD submarine platform Canada selected with Norway, giving Germany an established production relationship Canada could plug into directly.

This wasn't a weak relationship losing to a strong one. It was two strong relationships, and a contract this size comes down to more than the relationship alone. Here, NATO and European defence integration carried more weight.

Why have I not listed this in the trade deal tracker?

'Preferred bidder' is a procurement status, not a negotiation stage in the trade-deal sense. It reflects a competitive process where Canada selected a winning supplier, not two governments negotiating a bilateral text.

'Preferred bidder' status isn't a signed deal. The formal contract award isn't expected until around 2028. If contract negotiations with TKMS don't go well, Canada could turn back to Hanwha.

Sources: [39, Globe and Mail], [40, Korea JoongAng Daily], [41, Defense News], [42, Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada]

Appendix - Acronyms Used in This Article

The following acronyms will be referred to in this article. I know it sounds like a foreign language but this should help you sort it out. For assistance with definitions, please see the site glossary. I tried to make the glossary user friendly by grouping the terms by situation.

Trade Agreement Types

  • FTA / FTAs – Free Trade Agreement(s)
  • CEPA – Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement
  • CETA – Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement
  • CPTPP – Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership
  • CUSMA – Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement
  • FIPA – Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement
  • DTA – Double Taxation Agreement
  • MOU / MOUs – Memorandum/Memoranda of Understanding
  • CSP – Comprehensive Strategic Partnership

Named Bilateral & Regional Deals

  • CCRFTA – Canada-Costa Rica Free Trade Agreement
  • CUKFTA – Canada–United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement
  • CPFTA – Canada–Philippines Free Trade Agreement
  • ACAFTA – Canada–ASEAN Free Trade Agreement
  • CTFTA – Canada–Thailand Free Trade Agreement
  • TCA – Trade Continuity Agreement

Defence & Security

  • TKMS – ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems
  • KSS-III – South Korean submarine class (Dosan Ahn Chang-ho class)
  • SAFE – Security Action for Europe

Regional & International Bodies

  • ASEAN – Association of Southeast Asian Nations
  • AUKUS – Australia, United Kingdom, United States (security partnership)
  • NATO – North Atlantic Treaty Organization
  • G7 – Group of Seven (major industrialized democracies that meet on global economic and security issues))
  • G20 – Group of Twenty (major economies, including G7 members plus emerging markets like India, China, and Brazil, that coordinate on global economic issues)

Sector & Institutional

  • CASTL – Canadian Alliance for Skills and Training in Life Sciences
  • NIBRT – National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training
  • AI – Artificial Intelligence
  • KPMG – Global accounting and professional services firm


  • CAD – Canadian Dollar

Currency & Other

  • USD – United States Dollar


  • PM – Prime Minister

References

[1] Prime Minister of Canada. "Prime Minister Carney announces new trade agreement with Indonesia." pm.gc.ca, September 24, 2025; Global Affairs Canada. Canada-Indonesia CEPA: Summary of benefits and negotiated outcomes. February 2025.

[2] Prime Minister of Canada. "Prime Minister Carney secures new agreements with the United Arab Emirates to expand trade and attract new investment into Canada." pm.gc.ca, November 21, 2025.

[3] Global Affairs Canada. "Official agreement and side instruments: United Kingdom's Accession to the CPTPP." July 3, 2026.

[4] Global Affairs Canada. "Canada and United Arab Emirates conclude Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement negotiations." Canada.ca, July 24, 2026.

[5] Global Affairs Canada. "Costa Rica's Accession to the CPTPP: Summary of Negotiated Outcomes." international.gc.ca, May 5, 2026.

[6] Global Affairs Canada. "Minister Sidhu announces Canada's ratification of the United Kingdom's CPTPP Accession Protocol." July 3, 2026.

[7] BBC News. "UK halts trade negotiations with Canada over hormones in beef ban." January 25, 2024.

[8] Prime Minister of Canada. "Prime Minister Carney announces new partnerships with the Philippines in trade, energy, defence, and tourism." pm.gc.ca, July 2, 2026.

[9] Prime Minister of Canada. "Prime Minister Carney advances new trade, economic, and security partnerships with ASEAN nations." pm.gc.ca, October 27, 2025.

[10] Global Affairs Canada. "Canada's objectives for negotiations for a Canada-Thailand Free Trade Agreement." February 13, 2026.

[11] Global Affairs Canada. "Canada-Mercosur Free Trade Agreement." June 1, 2026.

[12] MercoPress. "Colombia and Venezuela will seek full Mercosur membership, Petro says." March 16, 2026.

[13] Prime Minister of Canada. "Prime Minister Carney secures ambitious new partnership with India focused on energy, talent, and technology." pm.gc.ca, March 2, 2026.

[14] Prime Minister of Canada. "Joint statement on the launch of FTA negotiations between Canada and Türkiye." pm.gc.ca, July 7, 2026.

[15] Prime Minister of Canada. "Canada announces new, strengthened partnership with the European Union." pm.gc.ca, June 23, 2025.

[16] Prime Minister of Canada. "Prime Minister Carney forges new Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Japan across defence, energy, trade, and technology." pm.gc.ca, March 6, 2026.

[17] Prime Minister of Canada. "Joint statement by the Government of Canada, the Government of Australia, and the Government of India." pm.gc.ca, November 22, 2025.

[18] Prime Minister of Canada. "Joint statement by Prime Minister Carney and President Sheinbaum." pm.gc.ca, September 18, 2025.

[19] Prime Minister of Canada. "Prime Minister Carney secures new partnership with Qatar to increase trade, investment, and defence cooperation." pm.gc.ca, January 18, 2026.

[20] Prime Minister of Canada. "Prime Minister of Canada Mark Carney and the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, His Royal Highness Mohammed bin Salman commit to deepening bilateral engagement and economic cooperation." pm.gc.ca, July 9, 2026.

[21] Prime Minister of Canada. "Prime Minister Carney announces new partnerships with the Philippines in trade, energy, defence, and tourism." pm.gc.ca, July 2, 2026.

[22] Global Affairs Canada. "Backgrounder - Preliminary Joint Arrangement on Addressing Bilateral Economic and Trade Issues between Canada and the People's Republic of China." international.gc.ca, January 16, 2026.

[23] Indra Group. "Indra Group Joins Forces With Cohere To Drive International Cooperation in Sovereign AI Between Spain and Canada." globenewswire.com, May 20, 2026.

[24] Reporting on Canada-South Africa cooperation announced at the G20 Summit, Johannesburg, November 2025.

[25] Global Affairs Canada. Joint statement: Canada–Republic of Korea Foreign and Defence (2+2) Ministerial Meeting. February 25, 2026.

[26] Natural Resources Canada. "Canada and the Republic of Korea deepen co-operation on energy resources and critical minerals." June 2, 2026.

[27] National Defence / Canadian Armed Forces. "Canada–Australia Partnership on Arctic Over-the-Horizon Radar." canada.ca, June 22, 2026.

[28] Prime Minister of Canada. "Prime Minister Carney elevates partnership with Australia in critical minerals, defence, and artificial intelligence." pm.gc.ca, March 5, 2026.

[29] Prime Minister of Canada. "Joint statement on Strategic Cooperation between Canada and the Kingdom of Norway." pm.gc.ca, March 14, 2026; Natural Resources Canada. "Minister Tim Hodgson meets with Norway's Minister of Energy, Terje Aasland." Readout, February 19, 2026.

[30] Prime Minister of Canada. "Prime Minister Carney expands Canada's partnership with Ireland across science, technology, and culture." pm.gc.ca, June 14, 2026.

[31] Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED). "Canada and Germany sign AI joint declaration and launch Sovereign Technology Alliance." February 14, 2026.

[32] Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED). "Minister Solomon, His Majesty King Felipe VI of Spain and Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Cuerpo advance Canada–Spain artificial intelligence cooperation through new memorandum of understanding." May 20, 2026.

[33] Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED). "Minister Solomon concludes successful visit to the Gulf to strengthen trade ties with the UAE and Qatar." canada.ca, October 15, 2025.

[34] Prime Minister of Canada. "Prime Minister Carney secures new partnerships in defence and critical minerals at the 2026 G7 Leaders' Summit." pm.gc.ca, June 17, 2026.

[35] Natural Resources Canada. "Canada unlocks 26 new investments and partnerships with 9 allied countries to secure critical minerals supply chains." canada.ca, October 31, 2025.

[36] Prime Minister of Canada. "Eight countries commit to supporting the Canada-led Defence, Security and Resilience Bank." pm.gc.ca, July 7, 2026.

[37] Council of the European Union. "SAFE: member states endorse agreement on the participation of Canada." consilium.europa.eu, December 19, 2025.

[38] CHEK News / The Canadian Press. "Carney's Saudi Arabia trip a 'high-water mark' for relations, business leader says." July 2026.

[39] The Globe and Mail. "Canada picks Germany's TKMS over South Korea's Hanwha to build submarine fleet." July 6, 2026.

[40] Korea JoongAng Daily. "Why Korea lost Canada's $42.3 billion submarine deal to Germany despite a bigger offer." July 8, 2026.

[41] Defense News. "Canada picks Germany's TKMS for historic submarine buy, in nod to Europe." July 7, 2026.

[42] Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. "What Ottawa's TKMS Submarine Decision Means for Canada and South Korea Ties." 2026.

[43] Department of Finance Canada. "Minister Champagne to welcome India's Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs to Canada to reinforce bilateral ties". Media advisory. August 21, 2026.

Author's Note: This article was developed from my research, notes, and ideas with AI-assisted drafting and editing. Because the trade deals tracked here were scattered across many sources and formats, AI played a larger role than normal in pulling together the scattered, varied information. I reviewed, corrected, and approved the final content. My thanks to my nephew, AP Kenway, for initially researching the eight additional trade deal updates as well as assisting in preparing the article for publication, and to my niece, SA Kenway, for researching and selecting the image(s).

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