Canada eyes AI, energy, and mining ties on first PM visit to kingdom in 26 years
Canada and Saudi Arabia signed 13 commercial agreements and memorandums of understanding worth more than $1 billion Canadian dollars, or roughly $710 million, during a visit to Jeddah, covering health technology, mining, infrastructure, and defence.
The agreements involved Canadian and Saudi companies and institutions, including engineering firms Hatch and AtkinsRéalis. Prime Minister Mark Carney also announced plans to lead a delegation of Canadian pension funds to the kingdom to explore long-term investment opportunities in energy and artificial intelligence.
The trip was the first by a Canadian prime minister to Saudi Arabia in 26 years as Carney met with Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman, and the two sides issued a joint statement committing to deeper cooperation across trade, technology, mining, energy, health, education, and defence.
Investment deals
Among the commitments unlocked by the visit, Canadian firms are set to support mining, critical minerals, and clean energy projects in Saudi Arabia, while Canadian infrastructure companies will help deliver Vision 2030 developments including roads and rail.
Canadian health technology firms will deploy patient monitoring, clinical decision-support, and surgical intelligence platforms in the kingdom, and Canadian colleges will train Saudi workers across construction, skilled trades, medicine, and technology.
Ottawa and Riyadh also agreed to pursue a memorandum of understanding on energy investment covering LNG, renewables, hydrogen, and carbon capture, alongside a separate MOU on AI development and commercialisation.
On the corporate side, Canadian AI firm Cohere and Saudi Arabia's HUMAIN announced a compute partnership under which HUMAIN will allocate at least 50 megawatts of dedicated AI infrastructure to support Cohere's next-generation models. BlackBerry and Aramco Digital have also opened talks on secure communications and industrial technology collaboration.
Carney and the crown prince said they intend to conclude a Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement by the end of 2027, a move designed to make it easier for Canadian businesses to expand into the Saudi market and attract Saudi capital into Canada. The two countries have also launched negotiations on a double-taxation agreement to smooth cross-border work and investment.
"Canada and Saudi Arabia have both embarked on ambitious new missions to transform their economies. To that end, we are harnessing each other's strengths across minerals and mining, technology, energy, and commerce. Canada has what the world wants. We are cultivating a dense web of new connections to diversify our trade, create new opportunities for our workers and businesses, and deliver greater security and prosperity for all Canadians," Carney said.
Saudi Arabia, whose economy is valued at $1.8 trillion and whose sovereign wealth fund holds an estimated $1 trillion in assets, is Canada's second-largest trading partner in the Middle East. The kingdom's Vision 2030 programme, aimed at diversifying away from oil and gas, has made it a target for foreign capital, and Saudi Investment Minister Fahad Al-Saif described Canada as "a trusted long-term partner," adding that Saudi investors bring "patient capital."
Facing criticism
The talks unfolded as renewed fighting between the US and Iran unsettled the wider Gulf region, following a missile strike on a Saudi tanker and a Qatari vessel in the Strait of Hormuz.
Carney said engaging directly with Riyadh, rather than criticising from a distance, was the more effective route given the kingdom's regional influence. "It's a very fragile, tense situation," he told reporters.
Asked whether he was prioritising business ties over Canada's long-standing disagreements with Saudi Arabia on human rights, Carney defended his approach to reporters in Jeddah. "Lecturing countries from afar is an ineffective strategy. It's satisfying but it's ineffective. Engagement can be effective. It doesn't mean it's always, it doesn't mean it's decisive, but it can be effective," he said.
