Canada and the United Arab Emirates have concluded negotiations on a comprehensive economic partnership agreement, closing out in roughly eight months what Ottawa described as among the fastest trade negotiations it has ever completed.
The conclusion was announced in Toronto on July 24 by Maninder Sidhu, Canada’s international trade minister, and Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, the UAE’s minister of foreign trade. Talks were launched during Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to the UAE in November 2025.
Once implemented, the agreement is intended to improve market access for Canadian businesses, reduce trade barriers, strengthen investment ties and enhance supply chain resiliency, according to Global Affairs Canada. No tariff schedules or sectoral commitments were released with the announcement.
The UAE is Canada’s largest export market in the Middle East, with merchandise trade between the two countries valued at C$3.5bn in 2025. Canadian merchandise exports to the UAE rose nearly 10 per cent year on year, following a 24 per cent increase between 2023 and 2024, while bilateral commercial services trade stood at C$445mn in 2024.
Al Zeyoudi said the conclusion marked “a defining chapter” in the relationship, pointing to sustained growth in non-oil trade, and invited Sidhu to visit the UAE with a Canadian business delegation. Sidhu, who met UAE business representatives at a round table hosted by the Canada-UAE Business Council while in Toronto, framed the deal as part of Canada’s worldwide trade diversification push.
Attention now turns to signature and ratification, and to the Canada Investment Summit in Toronto in September, where Sidhu said he expects Canadian and UAE investors to advance the investment agenda the agreement is designed to serve.