Mark Carney To Visit India In March As Canada Pushes Trade Reset, CEPA Revival And Strategic Energy Partnerships

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to visit India in early March, signalling a decisive push by Ottawa to rebuild ties and rapidly expand trade with New Delhi after more than two years of diplomatic strain.

Officials said the visit is likely to take place after India presents its Union Budget on 1 February and would mark the highest-level engagement between the two countries since relations cooled during the tenure of former prime minister Justin Trudeau.

India’s High Commissioner to Canada, Dinesh Patnaik, said the visit would be accompanied by a broader ministerial push, with several Canadian cabinet members expected in India around the same period.

During the visit, the two sides are likely to sign agreements covering uranium, energy, critical minerals and artificial intelligence, reflecting a renewed focus on trade, technology and long-term strategic cooperation.

At the heart of the engagement is an effort to revive negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), with both governments targeting bilateral trade of around $50 billion by 2030.

Momentum for renewed talks has grown following what officials described as a “fruitful conversation” between Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on the sidelines of India’s Republic Day celebrations.

According to a person familiar with the discussions, “The discussions focused on strengthening economic partnerships, cooperation in artificial intelligence and maintaining high-level exchanges.”

The diplomatic thaw follows a difficult period after allegations surfaced last year linking Indian agents to the killing of a Sikh separatist leader in Canada, claims New Delhi has firmly denied.

In August 2025, the two countries agreed to return envoys and increase diplomatic staffing, a move widely seen as the first step towards stabilising relations.

Canada’s renewed outreach to India is also shaped by external pressures. With US President Donald Trump threatening steep tariffs on Canadian goods and warning against Canada becoming a conduit for Chinese exports, Ottawa is aggressively pursuing trade diversification to reduce dependence on its southern neighbour.

Anand has said Canada “won’t be derailed” by such threats and emphasised the need to double non-US exports within a decade. “That is why we went to China, that’s why we will be going to India and that is why we won’t put all our eggs in one basket,” she said.

Energy cooperation is emerging as a key pillar of the reset. Canada’s Energy Minister Tim Hodgson is scheduled to visit India shortly, including meetings in Goa to explore collaboration on liquefied natural gas, uranium and critical minerals.

(With inputs from news agencies)

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