OTTAWA – Prime Minister Mark Carney left Tuesday for a nine-day trip that will see him circle the globe to drum up investment and trade in three places that have attracted the scrutiny of voters.
His visit to Beijing — the first trip to China by a sitting prime minister in more than eight years — will be followed by a stop in Qatar and a visit to the World Economic Forum in Switzerland.
University of British Columbia political scientist Stewart Prest said by visiting these destinations, Carney risks being seen as a member of a global elite making deals with countries that have troubling human rights records.
“I don’t think there’s any way to fully manage for any potential outcome, because you are making choices that are going to win you plaudits in some quarters and lead to frustration in others,” said Prest, whose research touches on international relations.
Prest said the federal government is “counting above all on that sense that times are different now.”
“We need to make hard choices and they are going to get a little more leeway than previous governments might have.”
Carney departed Tuesday afternoon from Vancouver and is scheduled to land in Beijing late Wednesday night local time.
On Thursday, he’ll meet with the second and third most powerful leaders in China’s communist system: Premier Li Qiang — nominally caretaker of China’s economy and in charge of its cabinet — and Zhao Leji, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress. Qiang invited Carney to China.
Carney will meet Friday with President Xi Jinping and the two leaders are expected to sign various joint agreements.
The visit comes as the government shifts Ottawa’s official position on China, which the Liberals in 2022 called a “disruptive global power” that does not share Canada’s set of values.
Much has changed since then. This week’s prime ministerial visit will be the first since China detained two Canadians for nearly three years in 2019, in retaliation for the arrest of a Chinese tech executive in Vancouver on a U.S. extradition warrant.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s worldwide economic upheaval has also changed the calculus for Canada’s relationships with other global powers.
Under Carney, the government has described Beijing as strategic partner and has said it can advance trade and environmental issues with China while holding firm on national security issues.
The government recently advised two Liberal MPs to quit a Taiwan visit early to avoid spreading what they said could be “confusion” about Canada’s policy on China, which does not recognize Taiwan as an independent country.
Top of mind for western and Atlantic premiers will be the prospect of relief from China’s heavy tariffs on pork, canola and seafood. China imposed the tariffs after Ottawa ordered tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, steel and aluminum — levies Ontario Premier Doug Ford has said are necessary to protect the auto sector.
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, who has urged Ottawa to end the EV tariffs so China will lower the levies on canola, will be in China with Carney.
On Tuesday, Ford said he hadn’t yet talked to Carney about it but was “very concerned” Canada was going to lower the EV tariffs. He said he was absolutely against it.
“And this is nothing against the folks in the canola business or soybean,” he said. “We have a thriving soybean business here too. So it’s not about them. I fully understand why Premier Moe is concerned, but he’s protecting Saskatchewan. I’m protecting Ontario, the 500,000 jobs in the auto sector.”
Federal officials briefing reporters Monday ahead of Carney’s departure said there might be relief coming soon on Chinese tariffs, but not a total end to the trade dispute with Beijing.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Monday Beijing hopes to “consolidate the momentum in the turnaround of China-Canada relations, and deliver more benefit to the two peoples.”
She told reporters Beijing hopes Ottawa will “properly handle differences” in the future.
“China attaches high importance to the visit,” she said.
Dylan Loh, a professor at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore who focuses on China’s foreign policy, said Beijing will expect “less antagonistic” public statements from Ottawa.
Loh said while China is grappling with its own economic woes, Beijing knows Canada is even more hungry for trading partners.
“It makes completely perfect sense to try to cultivate, to deepen, to normalize the relationship,” he said. “This will not, in my view, be cost-free. They will want something in return.”
Carney is set to depart for Doha on Saturday and will arrive in the Qatari capital late in the evening.
On Sunday, he’ll take part in a reception at the bureaucratic headquarters of Qatar, the Amiri Diwan. He will then meet with Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, along with the country’s prime minister and its deputy prime minister.
Carney will then meet with the Qatar Investment Authority before visiting a cultural institution and attending an official dinner.
Carney’s office said in Qatar he will be seeking more trade access and partnerships in artificial intelligence, infrastructure, energy and defence. Qatar’s investment authority has overseen a rise in direct investment in Canada in recent years.
The country is an American ally that has taken on increasing diplomatic importance. It hosted negotiations between Israel and Hamas and assisted Canada’s work to bring Ukrainian children abducted by Russia back to their families.
University of Ottawa professor Thomas Juneau, an expert on the Arabian Gulf, said Qatar is “a brutal dictatorship” but an increasingly important partner in diplomacy and economics, given its vast investment funds.
“The countries of the Gulf are not democratic, and they are not going to democratize,” he said. “And Canada is certainly not going have any influence on whether that happens or not.”
On Monday, Carney heads to Switzerland for the World Economic Forum in the ski resort town of Davos. He’ll spend Tuesday and Wednesday there meeting with leaders of countries, institutions and corporations and pitching Canada as an attractive investment destination.
Carney is set to give a speech Tuesday in Davos outlining his vision for Canada in the world, followed by a dinner with the WEF Board of Trustees. On Wednesday, he’ll be a special speaker at session for investors before attending a lunch with various leaders.
While former prime minister Stephen Harper attended the WEF multiple times, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has long criticized it as a talking shop for elites whose interests are at odds with those of average Canadians.
Trump is also expected to speak at Davos. Prest said that could end up be the defining moment of Carney’s trip, given the president’s unpredictability.
Carney will be travelling with senior cabinet ministers for foreign affairs, industry, natural resources, trade, agriculture and finance. He will also be travelling with first-term MP Michael Ma, who crossed the floor from the Conservatives to the Liberals last month.
In Monday’s briefing, a senior government official said Ma was chosen for his experience in international business and he would be an asset in both Beijing and Doha.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 13, 2026.
– With files from Allison Jones in Toronto
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