India and Canada are close to sealing a uranium supply deal worth about US$2.8 billion, according to the Globe and Mail. The update came soon after the Indian Prime Minister and Canadian PM Mark Carney said they were restarting trade ties.
The plan is for Cameco, the Canadian producer, to provide uranium for roughly a decade as part of expanded civil nuclear cooperation. People following the talks told the newspaper that some details might still shift before anything is officially announced.
India has bought uranium from Cameco before. Under a 2015 agreement signed during Modi’s visit to Canada, the company supplied about US$350 million worth of material over five years. That deal was possible because of the 2013 Nuclear Cooperation Agreement between the two countries.
This new arrangement isn’t expected to be a simple extension of the earlier contract. Cameco didn’t comment, the report noted.
India runs about 25 nuclear reactors and has six more being built, many of them based on Canadian Candu-style heavy-water technology. Future cooperation could also involve Canada helping India develop small modular nuclear reactors.
On Sunday, both leaders said they were restarting trade negotiations toward a broad economic partnership. India’s foreign ministry said the two sides reaffirmed their civil nuclear partnership and highlighted ongoing talks on long-term uranium supply.
Relations had plunged in 2023 after Justin Trudeau accused India of involvement in the killing of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. India rejected the accusation, calling it politically motivated, and Canada later froze trade discussions. Things began to thaw after Modi met Carney during the G7 in June.
Despite the tensions, trade didn’t collapse. Two-way goods and services trade reached about C$31 billion in 2024, though Canada’s trade with China that year was nearly four times larger.
