Last year's non-oil trade total was 21% higher than in 2024 and 19% above 2023. Growth carried into this year: two-way non-oil trade came to approximately $2.03 billion (C$2.85 billion) in the first half of 2026, up 19% on the same months of 2025. Among the UAE's trading partners in the Americas, Canada ranks third, while no Arab country trades more with Canada than the UAE.
Sheikh Khaled said the signing reflects how strong relations between the two countries are, and their shared commitment to developing them further. The UAE, he said, continues to work with Canada on a long-term economic partnership that makes trade and investment easier and creates new paths for private-sector growth and innovation in both countries.
He also stressed why concluding the deal mattered: to support trade in both directions, strengthen investment and open new areas of cooperation in priority sectors. That, he said, would help diversify economic opportunities, make both economies more competitive and serve their shared interests.
The CEPA sits alongside a UAE-Canada investment framework worth up to $50 billion (C$70 billion), which was announced when Carney visited the UAE in November 2025. The framework is designed to speed up cooperation in clean energy, mining, artificial intelligence (AI), agri-food, aviation, space and infrastructure.
That framework is starting to produce deal talks. Emirati companies are negotiating trade and investment transactions worth up to $15 billion (C$21.1 billion) with Canadian counterparts under it, the Abu Dhabi Media Office said. Those negotiations span four sectors: mining, logistics, energy and investment in sovereign wealth funds.
Some company-level agreements were signed during the visit, according to the joint statement issued by the two leaders. Masdar signed an Energy Cooperation Arrangement with Natural Resources Canada, a framework for investment in Canada's renewable energy and energy storage sectors that lets the Abu Dhabi clean energy company explore opportunities with Canadian companies and investors.
DP World in Canada signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Arctic Gateway Group and CentrePort Canada covering port operations and logistics services. It also looks at whether an integrated transport route could be built to connect the Port of Churchill and the Hudson Bay Railway with CentrePort Canada and DP World's worldwide logistics network. Abu Dhabi Chamber also signed an MoU with Invest in Canada to support two-way investment and private-sector engagement.
Canada welcomed a planned investment mission to the UAE, to be led by its Minister of Finance and joined by senior figures from major Canadian pension funds and financial institutions, the statement said. The two governments also raised their relationship to a Strategic Partnership, which will set up regular dialogue and coordination between them, and alongside the CEPA the leaders watched the signing of three agreements and MoUs in areas including renewable energy and diplomatic training, according to the Abu Dhabi Media Office.
The statement also pointed to strong interest from UAE investors in Canadian liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects and related infrastructure. With tariff cuts waiting on ratification and the $15 billion still under negotiation, the earliest results may come through company deals of this kind in energy, logistics and mining, rather than through the trade terms themselves.
Launched in September 2021, the UAE’s CEPA program is a central pillar of its foreign trade agenda, promoting open, rules-based trade while expanding its network of trading partners and opening new markets for private businesses. Two days before the Ottawa signing, the UAE exchanged a CEPA with Benin in Abu Dhabi. Bilateral non-oil trade reached $2.15 billion in 2025.
