Prime Minister Mark Carney has arrived in Saudi Arabia for a visit that carries unusual weight, marking the first time a Canadian prime minister has travelled to the kingdom in 26 years. The trip is aimed at strengthening economic ties between the two countries, even as it revives longstanding questions about Saudi Arabia's human rights record.
Supporters of the visit framed it as a meaningful signal. Going, one observer said, is important because it shows that Canada can engage with Saudi Arabia even while still voicing criticism, and reflects the reality that the kingdom remains an important country in its region regardless of the disagreements between the two governments.
The economic stakes help explain the outreach. According to the government of Canada, Saudi Arabia was Canada's largest trading partner in the Middle East in 2025, with $3.5 billion in trade between the two countries, and Ottawa has signalled that it wants to grow that figure considerably in the years ahead.
Still, the numbers come with a caveat. Despite being Canada's top trading partner in the region, Saudi Arabia accounted for just 0.2% of Canadian exports in 2025, a reminder that even a relationship worth billions of dollars remains modest in the context of Canada's overall trade.
The visit also comes against the backdrop of a serious rupture between the two nations. As Saudi Arabia loosened some of its social restrictions, Canadian-Saudi relations hit a wall when then-Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, in Parliament and on social media, expressed concern over the arrest of women's rights activists. The fallout was severe, with the ambassador expelled and trade between the two countries frozen.
Now, those relations are thawing. Carney's trip, the first by a Canadian prime minister in more than two decades, is being read as a step toward re-engagement, an attempt to rebuild a relationship that had been all but suspended in the years after the diplomatic dispute.
The country Carney is visiting has been working to reshape its image, pursuing an ambitious push to modernize and diversify its economy and culture. Entertainment options have flourished, including the kingdom's first comic convention, where men and women shared the same space in a way that had not previously been allowed. Yet some of the government's most eye-catching megaprojects, from a futuristic linear city to a ski resort in the desert, have reportedly shrunk, stalled or been cancelled amid a shortage of money.