Prime Minister Mark Carney and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met at the G20 summit in Johannesburg on Sunday, and agreed to restart stalled trade talks.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
Prime Minister Mark Carney and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have agreed to pursue what they are calling a comprehensive economic partnership, restarting trade talks that have been frozen for the past two years.
The development comes after the two leaders met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Johannesburg on Sunday. It is the latest evidence of a thaw in relations between the two countries, which broke down following the killing of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada in 2023.
Canada and India have been pursuing a free trade agreement in fits and starts since 2010. The latest effort started in 2022 but was called off the following year amid the diplomatic row that followed Mr. Nijjar’s assassination, which Canadian law enforcement officials have blamed on the Indian government.
“The leaders agreed to begin negotiations on a high-ambition Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), aimed at doubling bilateral trade to USD 50 billion by 2030,” the Indian government said in a press release following the meeting between Mr. Carney and Mr. Modi.
“Both sides reaffirmed their longstanding civil nuclear cooperation and noted the ongoing discussions on expanding collaboration, including through long-term uranium supply arrangements.”
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Two Canadian government officials also confirmed the resumption of negotiations.
Ottawa has sought to re-engage with several large economies with which diplomatic relations had frayed in recent years, including both India and China. This is part of the government’s efforts to diversify trade away from President Donald Trump’s protectionist United States, and double overseas exports to $600-billion from $300-billion over the next decade.
Speaking to reporters before the meeting with his Indian counterpart, Mr. Carney highlighted the commercial relationship Canada has with India.
“We are one of the largest, for example, foreign investors in India. Canada is. And there have been tight ties. What we’re looking to do is to put that on a sound footing through a potential trade agreement between the two countries which give protections to our businesses, protections to Indian businesses, a clear set of rules, dispute mechanisms and others,” Mr. Carney said.
Actual trade between the two countries remains relatively limited. In 2024, Canada exported $5.3-billion worth of goods to India and imported $8-billion worth of goods, according to Statistics Canada.
Canadian services exports to India have grown considerably in recent years, with much of this being driven by spending by Indian foreign students in Canada, which is classified as a service export.
Canada, India and Australia also agreed over the weekend to a “technology and innovation partnership,” intended to boost cooperation in fields of critical technologies, nuclear energy, diversification of supply chains and AI.
Mr. Modi invited Mr. Carney to visit India and the country’s high commissioner to Canada, Dinesh Patnaik, said he expected the Canadian leader might travel there in the first half of 2026.
“We’re off to the races,” Mr. Patnaik said of Sunday’s announcement from Canada and India.
In June, Mr. Modi came to Canada at Mr. Carney’s invitation to attend the G7 meeting in Kanaskis, Alta.