Candu attitude: Carney says Canadian bid for Turkish nuclear plant has ‘good chances’

ISTANBUL — Prime Minister Mark Carney said Friday a Canadian company has a real shot at winning a lucrative tender to supply nuclear energy to Turkey — a prospect he said was remote a year ago.

Carney was meeting with Turkish business leaders in Istanbul Friday, a day after he announced a new strategic partnership between Canada and Turkey to deepen co-operation on a range of files.

Energy is one of the pillars of that agreement and Carney said the AtkinsRéalis bid to supply two planned Turkish power plants with the Candu nuclear reactor now has “good chances” of succeeding. He added it would have been a long-shot a year ago.

“We’re in negotiations, and those negotiations are getting more intense. Probably from here to the end of the year, or around COP 31, it will be a decision for the Turkish government,” Carney told reporters in French.

COP31 is the United Nations Climate Change Conference, set for Antalya, Turkey from Nov. 9 to 20.

“Candu has a chance,” Carney added. “Yes, there’s competition. But we have the quality of the technology, of the financing, and a true partnership with business in this country with Canada.”

In June, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand welcomed her Turkish counterpart to Canada. During the trip, Turkish officials toured the Darlington nuclear facility in Ontario.

Canada’s nuclear strategy was released a week before the June trip.

The plan looks to sell more Candu reactors around the world and sets a goal of entering at least four new international markets by 2040. It also seeks to “engage six to 10 new nuclear entrant markets over a 15-year horizon, cementing Canada as their partner of choice.”

The push to sell Candu to new markets is an attempt to establish Canada as a reliable uranium export partner and to use nuclear energy as a geopolitical lever.

The prime minister said that while contract decisions are ultimately made business-to-business, his role in Istanbul is to share how the Canadian market has become more welcoming to foreign firms and investors.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2026.

— With files from Nick Murray in Ottawa

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Craig Lord, The Canadian Press