Has Mark Carney personally negotiated or signed any trade agreements for Canada this year?

1. What Carney has personally signed: investment and bilateral pacts

During his Abu Dhabi visit in November 2025, Prime Minister Mark Carney and the President of the United Arab Emirates signed a new Canada‑UAE Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPA); government reporting and multiple news outlets record Carney concluding the visit and signing that investment‑protection agreement ^{[1] [6]}. Separate Canadian government releases also detail Carney’s role in announcing and concluding the Canada‑Indonesia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in September 2025, describing it as Canada’s first-ever bilateral trade agreement with an ASEAN country ^[2]. Those documents attribute the announcement and signing-level activity directly to the prime minister’s office ^{[1] [2]}.

2. What Carney has advanced but not yet signed: regional trade deals

Carney has publicly accelerated and spearheaded negotiations on larger regional trade initiatives this year without declaring final, ministerial signings. The government says he “accelerated negotiations” on a Canada‑ASEAN free trade agreement during visits to Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, and officials expect negotiations to conclude in 2026; the releases frame this as active negotiation rather than a completed, signed free trade treaty ^{[3] [7]}. The government materials emphasize potential economic gains and implementation assistance, but they also set an anticipated conclusion in 2026 rather than 2025 ^[3].

3. The U.S. front: talks, concessions, but no confirmed Carney‑signed U.S. trade deal

On Canada‑U.S. trade, reporting shows sustained negotiations and some tactical concessions — for example, Canada removing or matching certain retaliatory tariff measures and rolling many issues into the upcoming USMCA/USMCA review process — but the sources do not show Carney personally signing a new Canada‑U.S. trade agreement this year ^{[8] [9] [5]}. Reuters and other outlets note press caution after reports that a steel and aluminum deal “might soon” be signed, but Carney himself warned against overplaying such reports, and subsequent coverage frames remaining items as likely moving to the formal USMCA review rather than being closed by a separate bilateral signature ^{[4] [5]}. In short: negotiations were active and tactical moves were made, but a Carney‑signed U.S. trade pact is not documented in the provided reporting ^{[4] [5]}.

4. How different outlets frame Carney’s role — promotion vs. prudence

Official government releases present Carney as leading a deliberate push to diversify trade and attract investment — highlighting the UAE FIPA, Indonesia CEPA, and efforts toward an ASEAN agreement as strategic wins or near‑wins ^{[1] [2] [3]}. Independent outlets such as Reuters and CBC cover the same events but include cautionary or critical context: Reuters stresses the limits of Canada’s leverage with major trading partners and notes the movement of outstanding issues into multilateral review processes ^{[10] [5]}, while CBC highlights the UAE investment‑protection signing amid questions about the UAE’s regional conduct, signaling a potential reputational trade‑off ^[6]. Presentations therefore differ: government messaging emphasizes concrete pacts and economic opportunity ^{[1] [2]}, while news reports add geopolitical limits and political sensitivity ^{[10] [6]}.

5. What the sources do not say or confirm

The available sources do not document any standalone, Carney‑signed Canada‑U.S. steel and aluminum trade agreement taking effect in 2025; press reports that such a deal “might soon” be signed were met with Carney’s own caution and subsequent reporting places unresolved items into the USMCA review process ^{[4] [5]}. The sources also do not provide a comprehensive list of every instrument Carney may have signed domestically or at lower diplomatic levels; they focus on high‑profile international pacts and negotiation milestones ^{[1] [2] [3]}.

6. Bottom line and implications

Factually, Mark Carney has personally signed at least an investment‑protection agreement with the UAE and has announced and helped conclude the Canada‑Indonesia CEPA this year, while actively negotiating a Canada‑ASEAN FTA and engaging with the U.S. on tariff disputes — but there is no confirmed, cited record in these sources of him personally signing a new Canada‑U.S. trade agreement this year ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}. Readers should weigh government statements about economic opportunity against reporting that highlights political limits, ongoing USMCA review mechanics, and the geopolitical context surrounding some partnerships ^{[10] [6]}.