How many bilateral vs multilateral trade deals has Prime Minister Carney launched?

1. Bilateral deals: a rapid tally and what counts as a “deal”

Reporting identifies multiple country-to-country outcomes credited to Carney: a preliminary Canada–China package that lowers tariffs on specific goods (including canola and certain EV measures) and opens limited EV access (up to 49,000 units at reduced tariffs), a wrapped-up trade deal with Ecuador, a concluded agreement with Indonesia, investment pacts with the UAE, and multiple political/business agreements reached in Qatar (counted here as bilateral engagements that include trade or investment elements) ^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [2]}. These items are described in source reporting as distinct bilateral instruments or country-to-country arrangements rather than chapters of a larger plurilateral accord, so the evidence supports a minimum count of five bilateral deals launched under Carney’s tenure in the period covered by the sources ^{[1] [2] [3]}.

2. Why the China package isn’t being reported as a free‑trade agreement

Multiple outlets emphasize that the China outcome is a targeted tariff-relief and market-access reset, not a comprehensive free-trade agreement: tariffs on some agricultural products and EVs were reduced or restored to most-favoured-nation levels, with Carney and his office explicitly rejecting the characterization of the outcome as a full FTA ^{[1] [5] [7]}. Those caveats matter because counting “trade deals” can overstate the policy shift if one equates limited sectoral tariff rollbacks with full bilateral FTAs; the sources make that distinction repeatedly ^{[1] [5] [7]}.

3. Multilateral deals: absence of new launches in the reporting

None of the provided reporting claims that Carney has launched a new multilateral free‑trade agreement; instead, coverage frames his strategy as diversifying bilateral relationships and negotiating smaller, targeted deals while the USMCA/CUSMA multilateral framework remains in force and under review ^{[2] [6]}. Reuters and other outlets describe Carney’s push as building a “new global trading order” through bilateral engagements and partnerships rather than by initiating a new multilateral trade pact ^[2].

4. Constraints and countervailing narratives to keep in mind

Reporting highlights legal and political constraints that shape Carney’s options: Canada’s commitments under the USMCA/CUSMA restrict pursuing free-trade deals with non‑market economies without consulting partners, and domestic critics and U.S. officials framed some of Carney’s outreach as politically fraught or tactical rather than transformative ^{[5] [8] [6]}. Sources also note that some items labeled “deals” (e.g., tariff restorations) are motivations to diversify trade rather than indications of wide‑ranging multilateral architecture change ^{[1] [2]}.

5. Bottom line and limits of the evidence

Based strictly on the supplied reporting, Carney has launched at least five bilateral trade or investment agreements/arrangements (China, Ecuador, Indonesia, UAE, Qatar) and has not launched any new multilateral trade agreements in this period; the China package is explicitly described as sectoral tariff rollbacks, not an FTA, and Canada’s multilateral obligations under USMCA/CUSMA remain central to interpretation ^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [6]}. If “launched” were interpreted more narrowly (only formal, ratified bilateral FTAs) or more broadly (including memoranda, investment accords and sectoral tariff deals), the numerical answer would shift — the current count is the conservative minimum evident in the sources provided ^{[1] [2]}.