Key Takeaways
- Canada and the UAE concluded a CEPA in 47 days, described as the fastest free trade agreement either country has signed.
- Expected in 2027, the agreement would reduce or eliminate tariffs on more than 99% of current Canadian exports to the UAE.
- The deal accompanies a $70 billion UAE investment commitment and plans for a Hudson Bay-linked trade corridor.
A trade deal in 47 days, and a $70 billion promise behind it
Canada and the United Arab Emirates have signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) negotiated in a record 47 days — the fastest free trade agreement either country has ever concluded.
The deal was signed in Ottawa during the first-ever visit to Canada by a Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who met Prime Minister Mark Carney over two days. The two leaders also launched a new Strategic Partnership covering economic ties, energy, technology, education, defence and diplomacy.
Once the CEPA enters into force — expected in 2027 — it will reduce or eliminate tariffs on over 99% of current Canadian exports to the UAE. Ottawa says that opens new markets for pulse and canola farmers, industrial machinery and power equipment manufacturers, and Canada's aerospace sector, while tackling non-tariff barriers across agriculture, forest products, fish and seafood, environmental goods and engineering services.
The numbers behind the handshake
The government's projection is ambitious: two-way trade doubling from $3.4 billion to $7 billion over the next decade. For scale, two-way merchandise trade in 2025 was $3.5 billion, including $2.8 billion in Canadian exports, and more than 150 Canadian companies already operate in the UAE, where an estimated 60,000 Canadians live and work.
The visit also delivered progress on the UAE's $70 billion investment commitment to Canada, announced in November 2025. DP World signed an MOU with the Arctic Gateway Group and CentrePort Canada to develop a trade corridor linking the Port of Churchill, the Hudson Bay Railway and DP World's global logistics network, and Masdar signed an energy cooperation arrangement with Natural Resources Canada.
More than trade
The two countries also signed a defence cooperation MOU — covering military training, joint exercises, cyber security and defence industry work, guided by a new Joint Military Committee — plus a diplomatic training agreement, and announced they will open negotiations toward an extradition treaty and a mutual legal assistance treaty.
The Twikup Take
Ottawa's trade strategy is now a speed run: sign fast, diversify faster. A 47-day deal with a Gulf partner — paired with a $70 billion investment pipeline and a Hudson Bay corridor — is a clear signal Canada wants options beyond its traditional markets. The tariffs only fall once the agreement takes force in 2027, so the real test is whether the projected doubling of trade shows up on exporters' order books.
Photo: This picture shows the beautiful Abu Dhabi Skyline and how it has evolved through the years under the union of the United Arab Emirates by Clint Ian Pinto, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.