Carney accepts invitation to visit Saudi Arabia 'in the future' amid diplomatic thaw

A Yemeni protester raises a poster of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a march to protest Iranian attacks on Saudi Arabia in Taiz, Yemen, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdulnasser Alseddik)

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney says he plans to visit Saudi Arabia “in the future” after being invited by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The visit would be the first by a sitting Canadian prime minister in at least two decades and the invitation follows a gradual thaw in bilateral relations after years of diplomatic strain.

In May 2023, Canada and Saudi Arabia appointed ambassadors and agreed to move past a 2018 dispute which started when the Trudeau government criticized the kingdom’s justice system and its treatment of women.

Carney has made the Persian Gulf region a focus of his efforts to drum up investment through visits over the past year to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Since the U.S. and Israel declared war on Iran, Carney has put advocacy for Gulf countries at the centre of Canada’s statements and has talked about offering support to Gulf states to enforce a ceasefire if one occurs.

Saudi Arabia has maintained close ties with Washington despite U.S. intelligence agencies saying Prince Mohammed approved the 2018 murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi at a Saudi consulate in Turkey.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 29, 2026.

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press