OTTAWA - Canada and the United Arab Emirates have signed a comprehensive trade agreement negotiated in a record 47 days, as Prime Minister Mark Carney launched a new Strategic Partnership with the UAE during the first-ever visit to Canada by a Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
The Canada-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, known as CEPA, was signed on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, during the Ottawa visit of Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a visit Apna News reported as it began. The Prime Minister’s Office says the 47-day negotiation is the fastest free trade agreement either country has ever concluded.
What the trade deal does
Once fully implemented, CEPA will reduce or eliminate tariffs on more than 99 per cent of current Canadian exports to the UAE. Ottawa says that means new markets for Canadian farmers growing pulses and canola, for manufacturers of industrial machinery and power generation equipment, and for Canada’s aerospace sector. The agreement also addresses non-tariff barriers and expands market access for Canadian goods and services in the industrial, agricultural, forest, fish and seafood, environmental and engineering sectors. It is expected to enter into force in 2027.
Two-way merchandise trade between Canada and the UAE was valued at $3.5 billion in 2025, with $2.8 billion in Canadian exports. The federal government says the CEPA will double two-way trade, from $3.4 billion to $7 billion over the next decade, and frames the UAE as a gateway to a wider Middle East and North Africa market of nearly 500 million people.
“The UAE and Canada are building big,” Carney said. “In less than a year, we have put an investment protection agreement in force, negotiated and signed a trade agreement in record time, and turned a historic $70 billion commitment into real investments in Canadian energy, infrastructure, and technology.”
A broader strategic partnership
The Strategic Partnership sets a long-term framework for cooperation on economic ties, energy, technology, education, defence and diplomacy. As part of it, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding on defence cooperation, creating a Joint Military Committee and covering military education and training, joint exercises, defence industrial cooperation and cyber security. Global Affairs Canada also signed an agreement with the Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy on diplomatic training, and the two governments announced they will launch negotiations toward an extradition treaty and a mutual legal assistance treaty.
Progress on the $70 billion investment commitment
The visit delivered new steps on the UAE’s commitment, announced during Carney’s November 2025 trip to Abu Dhabi, to invest $70 billion in Canada. DP World signed a memorandum with the Arctic Gateway Group and CentrePort Canada to develop an integrated transportation corridor linking the Port of Churchill, the Hudson Bay Railway and CentrePort Canada to DP World’s global logistics network. Masdar, the UAE renewable energy company, signed an energy cooperation arrangement with Natural Resources Canada, and Invest in Canada signed an agreement with the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry to connect interested businesses in both countries.
Why this matters to Surrey
Trade agreements signed in Ottawa land in Surrey’s economy in concrete ways. Fraser Valley and B.C. agri-food exporters, including the pulse and canola supply chains that run through the Port of Vancouver, are among the sectors Ottawa names as winners from tariff-free access to the UAE. Surrey is also home to one of Canada’s largest South Asian business communities, with trading, logistics and professional-services firms that already do business across the Gulf, and more than 150 Canadian companies operate in the UAE, where an estimated 60,000 Canadians live and work.
Canada and the UAE have had diplomatic relations for more than 50 years. The trade deal follows the Canada-UAE investment protection agreement that came into force earlier this year, and the launch of CEPA negotiations during Carney’s November 2025 visit to Abu Dhabi, when the $70 billion investment commitment was first announced. With the agreement signed, the next step is implementation, with entry into force expected in 2027.
Source: Prime Minister’s Office, “Prime Minister Carney launches new Strategic Partnership with the UAE,” October 27, 2026.
