Canada and the United Arab Emirates signed a trade pact and outlined plans for extradition and legal-assistance treaties, bringing export access and criminal cooperation into the same push to expand bilateral ties.
The announcement followed an Oct. 26-27 Ottawa visit by Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. A joint Canada-UAE statement says the proposed treaties would help authorities coordinate on cross-border criminal cases. It gives no timetable and does not say negotiations have begun.
The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) was signed Oct. 27 and has not taken effect; Canada expects it to do so in 2027. Ottawa says tariff relief would cover more than 99% of the goods Canada currently exports to the UAE. The government projects two-way trade could rise from $3.4 billion to $7 billion over the next decade. The Prime Minister's Office also described the visit as progress on the UAE's $70 billion investment commitment, announced during Prime Minister Mark Carney's November 2025 visit to Abu Dhabi.
Global News reported that Department of Justice Canada spokesperson Kwame Bonsu said an extradition arrangement could let Canadian authorities seek the return of people accused or convicted in cases involving money laundering, drug trafficking or cybercrime. He pointed to the UAE's agreements with several European countries when explaining Ottawa's renewed interest in negotiations.
Rights advocates have cited UAE detention cases. Amnesty International said Sudanese activist Mohammed Farouk Salman Mahmoud was released Aug. 22, 2026, after one year and seven months in detention. The group said authorities had not filed charges or brought his case before a court; UAE authorities said he was under investigation over an alleged insult to the country's head of state. Inter Pares spokesperson Amani Khalfan told Global News the UAE's record of unlawful and arbitrary detentions was “appalling.” Amnesty's 2026 annual report also described a poet extradited from Lebanon to the UAE in January 2025 who, it said, was forcibly disappeared and denied access to lawyers and family through the end of that year.
In a January 2026 open letter, 17 civil society organizations and 47 individuals urged Canada to press the UAE to end material or diplomatic support for Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Amnesty said Chinese-made weapons used by the RSF in Sudan were “almost certainly” re-exported there by the UAE. Abu Dhabi denies supporting either side in the conflict. Sudan also brought a case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), alleging UAE violations of the Genocide Convention relating to the Masalit group. The ICJ dismissed the case on jurisdictional grounds, citing the UAE's reservation to Article IX, and did not rule on the allegations; the UAE rejects them.
Department of Justice Canada describes the extradition process as government authorization, a court hearing and a justice minister's decision on surrender. The minister must refuse surrender if it would be unjust or oppressive or if the request is discriminatory, and may refuse it when the alleged offense carries the death penalty in the requesting country. Canada expects CEPA to take effect in 2027, while the treaty announcements set no schedule for negotiations.
