India-Canada Relations

India-Canada Relations

Why in News? 

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is visiting India from February 27 to March 2, 2026, marking a major diplomatic reset. This visit will focus to fast-track a comprehensive trade deal and strengthen energy and technology ties. 

PM Mark Carney’s 2026 India Visit

• Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will conduct his first official visit to India from February 27 to March 2, 2026, engaging in business talks in Mumbai before holding strategic talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on March 2.
• The visit will focus on reviewing the India-Canada Strategic Partnership, advancing cooperation in trade, energy, critical minerals, and strengthening people-to-people ties, following prior 2025 meetings in Kananaskis and Johannesburg.
• Prime Minister Carney will arrive in Mumbai on February 27, 2026, to engage with Indian and Canadian CEOs, industry experts, and Canadian pension funds based in India.
• On March 2, 2026, the two leaders will hold delegation-level talks at Hyderabad House to review the progress of the India-Canada Strategic Partnership.
• Discussions will focus on trade and investment, with both leaders participating in the India-Canada CEO Forum to foster economic growth.
• The two leaders will share perspectives on regional and global developments, ensuring alignment on geopolitical matters.

Why Mark Carney’s India Visit is Significant?

• First Official Visit After Diplomatic Breakdown: This is the first official India visit by Prime Minister Mark Carney after bilateral relations sharply deteriorated in September 2023 due to Canada’s allegations regarding India’s involvement in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar—which India strongly denied. The crisis led to suspension of trade talks, diplomatic expulsions and visa restrictions. Therefore, this visit is being viewed as a trust-restoration exercise after nearly three years of strategic stagnation in India–Canada relations.
• Revival of Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA): India and Canada had earlier agreed to restart negotiations on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with a target to double bilateral trade to USD 70 billion by 2030. Carney’s India visit includes CEO-level business meetings, aimed at restoring market access, investment flows and supply-chain resilience—especially in sectors like clean energy, AI, technology and agriculture.
• Canada’s Strategic Diversification: A major geopolitical driver behind the visit is Canada’s attempt to reduce excessive economic dependence on the United States, which currently accounts for nearly 75% of Canadian exports. Carney has emphasized building ties with emerging Indo-Pacific middle powers like India to strengthen Canada’s long-term trade resilience.
• Critical Cooperation in Energy & Uranium Supply: India is a major importer of Canadian uranium for civil nuclear energy under the existing nuclear cooperation framework. The visit is expected to advance long-term uranium supply arrangements and expand cooperation in renewable energy transition and critical minerals, crucial for India’s net-zero ambitions and Canada’s resource-export strategy.
• Indo-Pacific Strategic Alignment: Carney’s India outreach is part of a broader diplomatic tour to Australia and Japan, indicating Canada’s evolving Indo-Pacific Strategy focused on defence partnerships, economic security and technology collaboration. Strengthening ties with India enhances Canada’s role in a multipolar “middle-power coalition”.
• Counter-Terrorism Signalling & Extremism Concerns: Carney has taken a firm stance against terrorism, recalling the 1985 Air India Kanishka bombing as Canada’s deadliest attack. His pragmatic foreign policy aims to recalibrate Canada’s domestic political positioning on violent extremism linked to diaspora politics, a key irritant in bilateral relations. This visit signals willingness to address security sensitivities of India regarding Khalistani separatism. 

India–Canada Relations

• Diplomatic Ties: India and Canada established diplomatic ties in 1947, rooted in Commonwealth membership and democratic values. Over decades, relations expanded across governance, global forums, and multilateral partnerships, reflecting shared interests in peace and economic cooperation. 
• Strategic Partnership: Bilateral ties were formally designated a “Strategic Partnership” in 2018, with ministerial dialogues across trade, energy, and security. These frameworks aim to institutionalize cooperation.
• Trade Relationship: Bilateral goods and services trade reached CAD 30.9 billion in 2024, with both sides aiming to strengthen economic ties. India is Canada’s seventh largest trading partner, signaling growing commercial interdependence
• Foreign Direct Investment (FDI): Canadian FDI in India reached US$4.16 billion (2000‑24), mainly through institutional investors like CPPIB and OTPP, in infrastructure, renewables, logistics and digital sectors — while Indian companies have invested CA$6.6 billion in Canada.
• Energy Cooperation: The Canada–India Ministerial Energy Dialogue was relaunched, with collaboration on LNG, LPG, hydrogen, carbon capture, and renewable energy, reflecting shared energy transition priorities. 
• Food Security: Canada remains a major supplier of Muriate of Potash (25% of India’s needs), and both countries aim to strengthen agricultural value chains and market access, enhancing food security linkages.

• Critical Minerals: Both sides agreed to build frameworks around critical minerals (lithium, cobalt, graphite) and ACC battery manufacturing, vital for India’s EV mission and Canada’s export strategy.
• Civil Nuclear Cooperation: Under the 2010 Nuclear Cooperation Agreement, Canada supplies uranium to India for peaceful use, and a C$2.8 billion 10‑year supply deal is expected to be finalized soon.
• Technology & Scientific Collaboration: Science and technology cooperation is supported by the Joint Science & Technology Cooperation Committee, with joint research in AI, biotech, space, and digital infrastructure, including CSA–ISRO satellite collaboration.
• Education Exchange: Indian students form the largest group of international students in Canada, strengthening people‑to‑people ties, academic exchanges, and cross‑border innovation partnerships. 
  • Over 3.2 lakh Indian students study in Canada, forming the largest international student community there. Their exposure to advanced STEM education, research ecosystems, and innovation hubs strengthens India’s human capital base.
• Indian Diaspora: With over 1.8 million people of Indian origin, including nearly 1 million NRIs, the diaspora profoundly influences social, cultural, and economic links — while diaspora politics remains a contentious diplomatic factor. 
• Counter‑Terrorism Cooperation: Long‑standing cooperation exists through the Joint Working Group on Counter‑Terrorism (1997) and frameworks for countering violent extremism, signalling pragmatic collaboration despite recent political tensions.
• Multilateral Frameworks: India and Canada coordinate in multilateral bodies like the UN, G20, and Commonwealth, promoting democratic values, global trade, climate action, and sustainable development. 

Significance of Canada for India 

• Food and Fertilizer Security: Canada accounts for nearly 30% of India’s imported potash demand, a key input for NPK fertilizers. Long-term supply contracts with Canadian firms ensure India’s soil nutrient balance, boosting crop yields. In times of global fertilizer supply disruptions after the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Canadian potash played a stabilizing role in maintaining India’s food production resilience. 
• Critical Minerals Access: India’s clean-energy transition requires minerals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel and rare earth elements, abundantly available in Canada. Bilateral cooperation supports India’s EV battery manufacturing, solar storage, and green hydrogen missions, reducing reliance on China-dominated global supply chains.
• Gateway to North America: Canada offers Indian exporters preferential access to the USMCA economic region through its integrated North American supply chains. Establishing production or logistics bases in Canada enables Indian firms to tap into the $29 trillion North American market, enhancing India’s global manufacturing footprint in sectors like pharmaceuticals, automobiles, and IT services.
• Climate Change Collaboration: Canada’s leadership in carbon capture, clean hydrogen, and renewable energy technologies complements India’s climate targets under the Paris Agreement, supporting India’s commitment to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070 through technology transfer and green finance mechanisms. 
• Arctic Research Access: Canada’s Arctic expertise allows India—an observer in the Arctic Council—to collaborate on polar climate science, glacial studies, and emerging Northern Sea Route trade possibilities, relevant for India’s long-term maritime strategy.