Canada and India are getting back to the negotiating table after a two-year freeze. The Indian government announced Sunday that both sides have agreed to restart talks on a new trade agreement, a process that had stalled after a sharp diplomatic clash in 2023.
The breakthrough came when Prime Minister Mark Carney sat down with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the G20 summit in Johannesburg. Their meeting set the stage for fresh negotiations on a high-ambition Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, with a shared goal of pushing bilateral trade to 50 billion dollars by 2030.
Carney echoed that sentiment publicly, saying the renewed talks could lift trade to more than 70 billion Canadian dollars. He pointed out that India, now the world’s fifth-largest economy, offers huge potential for Canadian businesses and workers.
Both governments also reaffirmed their long-running cooperation in the civil nuclear sector and noted progress toward expanded collaboration, including long-term uranium supply deals.
For Carney, this moment matters. He’s been trying to diversify Canada’s trade relationships beyond the United States, and reviving talks with India signals a shift toward improving ties after a difficult stretch. Canada had halted negotiations in 2023 after accusing Indian officials of involvement in the killing of a Canadian Sikh separatist, an allegation India firmly rejected. Even through the tension, trade kept growing, though experts still describe it as modest considering India’s economic scale.
By 2024, two-way trade in goods and services reached roughly 31 billion Canadian dollars, driven in large part by Canada’s strong services exports. For comparison, Canada’s trade with China that same year was nearly four times larger.
Relations began to warm earlier this year when Modi and Carney met during the G7 summit in June. On Sunday, Carney said he views India as a dependable partner, even if occasional friction is inevitable. He stressed that a formal agreement could lay down clear rules, protect companies on both sides, and create reliable channels for resolving disputes.
Carney’s diplomatic push didn’t stop there. At the same G20 gathering, he met Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and both leaders agreed to accelerate talks on a Canada-Mercosur free trade deal involving Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
