Canada and Saudi Arabia signed 13 commercial agreements worth over $1 billion Canadian during a visit to Jeddah, the first by a Canadian prime minister to the kingdom in 26 years. The deals cover health technology, mining, infrastructure, and defence, with firms like Hatch and AtkinsRéalis securing contracts to support Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 economic diversification efforts.
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced plans to lead a delegation of Canadian pension funds to Saudi Arabia to explore long-term investment opportunities in energy and artificial intelligence. Carney described the visit as a strategic shift, arguing that engagement offers a more practical way to influence outcomes than public criticism. “Lecturing countries from afar is ineffective,” he said in Jeddah. “Engagement can work. It isn’t always decisive, but it can make a difference.”
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The kingdom is working to reduce its dependence on oil and gas, positioning itself as a destination for foreign investment. With an economy valued at $1.8 trillion and a sovereign wealth fund holding an estimated $1 trillion in assets, Saudi Arabia ranks as Canada’s second-largest trading partner in the Middle East. Saudi Investment Minister Fahad Al-Saif described Canada as “a trusted long-term partner,” adding that Saudi investors bring “patient capital.”
Deals span AI, energy, and critical minerals
The agreements include a compute partnership between Canadian AI firm Cohere and Saudi Arabia’s HUMAIN, which will dedicate at least 50 megawatts of infrastructure to support advanced AI models. BlackBerry and Aramco Digital have also opened talks on secure communications and industrial technology collaboration.
In energy, the countries will pursue a memorandum of understanding on liquefied natural gas, renewables, hydrogen, and carbon capture. Canadian health technology companies will introduce patient monitoring and surgical intelligence platforms in Saudi hospitals, while colleges train workers in construction, skilled trades, and medicine.
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Ottawa and Riyadh launched negotiations on a double-taxation agreement and a Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement, with a goal of concluding both by the end of 2027. These steps are designed to simplify cross-border investment, making it easier for Canadian businesses to expand into the Saudi market and attract Saudi capital into Canada.
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.
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