After having gone through nearly three years of diplomatic downgrade, India and Canada are viewing the bilateral relationship with a lot of optimism now, even as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is beginning his India visit. The two nations are also looking at strengthening their economic and commercial bonds.
Carney has landed in Mumbai along with a large business delegation. Amongst the agreements that are expected to be signed is a long-term uranium supply agreement. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, who is accompanying Carney, has expressed confidence that Ottawa and New Delhi were nearing a long-term uranium supply agreement. The proposed deal, potentially valued at $2.6 billion, would see Cameco Corporation supply uranium for Indian nuclear reactors under a possible 10-year arrangement which, Moe said, could materialise in the ‘immediate future’.
Carney, with Saskatchewan’s Moe and New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt as part of his team, is in Mumbai, as Canada seeks to diversify trade beyond the US, while India looks to secure reliable access to Canadian energy resources. Discussions are also expected to touch upon tariffs on Canadian agricultural exports.
India and Canada have been associating with each other on the peaceful use of nuclear energy. “This co-operation reflects mutual trust and contributes to India’s energy security and clean energy objectives, while strengthening bilateral scientific and technological engagement,’’ informs India’s ministry for external affairs (MEA).
New Delhi and Ottawa hope to increase bilateral trade to $50 billion by 2030, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said during a joint media appearance with Carney, from nearly $9 billion in 2024-25. They also agreed on a C$2.6 billion ($1.9 billion) uranium deal and will work on building small modular nuclear reactors and advanced reactors, both sides said. "In civil nuclear energy, we have concluded a landmark deal for the long-term supply of uranium," Modi said. The Indian government and Canada's Cameco (CCO.TO), have signed a uranium supply agreement to support India's nuclear ambitions and to work towards a clean, reliable base load power, Carney added.
India and Canada have taken a series of measures during the past few months to restore bilateral ties that had deteriorated sharply after former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had, in 2023, alleged that there was a possible Indian government association to the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar -- which India had rejected as ‘absurd’. Relations further worsened in October 2024, when India recalled its High Commissioner and five other diplomats after Ottawa attempted to connect them to the case, prompting reciprocal expulsions by both sides. The process of engagement resumed only after Liberal Party leader Mark Carney’s electoral victory last April, with the two countries subsequently reinstating high commissioners in each other’s capitals as part of efforts to reset relations.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was amongst the first to congratulate Carney after this election win and expressed his desire ‘to strengthen our partnership and unlock greater opportunities for our people’. Soon after, Carney had invited Modi to Canada for the G7 summit in June last year, where both leaders met on the sidelines of the summit. Appointments of new envoys in both countries followed and relations began to improve, resulting in the optimism now.
“In a world where uncertainty prevails, Canada is focussed on what we can control,” Carney had said earlier. We are diversifying our trade and attracting massive new investment to create new opportunities for our workers and businesses. We are also forging new partnerships abroad to create greater certainty, security and prosperity at home”.
After Mumbai, Carney and his wife Diana Carney moved to Delhi, where he met S. Jaishankar, India’s minister for external affairs, and also signed a series of MoUs with PM Modi. There was also a CEOs’ forum at Bharat Mandapam. From India, Carney is heading to Australia and then Japan.
Meanwhile, Pari Johnston, president & CEO, Colleges and Institutes, Canada, described the launch of the Canada-India Talent & Innovation Strategy during the visit as ‘a promising first step’ towards developing a new partnership with India's ministry for skills & entrepreneurship. Johnston said the initiative will support the development of national skills centres, sharing Canadian expertise and applied education and training and apprenticeships to support the Indian skills plans in areas like critical minerals, AI and agri-food.
Regarding trade, India's key exports include pharmaceuticals, electronic goods, gems & jewellery, seafood and engineering products, while major imports from Canada comprise minerals, pulses, potash, paper products and scrap metals. Services trade is even more substantial. In 2024, bilateral services trade touched CA$19.61 billion.
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The ‘new’ deals
* India is the world’s fastest-growing major economy and a powerhouse in global commerce and technology. In 2024, India was Canada’s seventh-largest goods and services trading partner, with two-way trade coming to $30.8 billion.
* At last year’s G20 Leaders’ Summit, Canada and India had agreed to formally launch negotiations for an ambitious Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement that will support Canada’s goal to more than double two-way trade to $70 billion by 2030.
* Canada and Australia have a robust trade relationship, with bilateral merchandise trade totalling $6.1 billion in 2024 and Canadian direct investment in Australia amounting to $58.8 billion that same year.
* Last fall, on the margins of the G20 Leaders’ Summit, Canada, India and Australia had entered into a new trilateral technology and innovation partnership to deepen strategic collaboration on critical and emerging technologies and drive further diversification of supply chains toward a secure, sustainable, and resilient future.
Japan, the world’s fourth-largest national economy, is a critical commercial partner for Canada, with bilateral trade between the two countries worth $36.4 billion annually.