Mark Carney's India Visit to Boost $50 Billion Trade Deal: A New Era for Canada-India Ties

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Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to visit India in 2026, a move that is expected to strengthen bilateral ties and boost a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) aimed at doubling trade between the two countries to $50 billion by 2030. According to Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, the deal is a 'high ambition' one that can leverage the strengths of both Canada and India to become a force multiplier for businesses and investors. The Canadian Prime Minister's Office has also described the CEPA as a 'powerful economic anchor' that can help drive growth and job creation in both countries. The decision to launch CEPA negotiations was announced after a bilateral meeting between PM Modi and Carney on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders' Summit in Johannesburg. The two leaders expressed confidence that the agreement will help more than double two-way trade to CAD 70 billion by 2030 and strengthen people-to-people linkages. This is a significant development, given the history of trade talks between the two countries. Canada and India first entered into CEPA talks in 2010, but they were scrapped in 2015. Fresh negotiations commenced but did not culminate in a deal before the two countries decided to opt for negotiations towards an Early Progress Trade Agreement (EPTA). Those talks were paused in August 2023 due to a diplomatic row. However, with Carney's assumption of power earlier this year, the bilateral relationship between India and Canada has shown significant improvement. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand discussed the prospects of India-Canada ties in May, followed by a bilateral meeting between Modi and Carney in June. The two leaders have agreed to further advance their relations in areas such as trade, investment, technology, and innovation, energy, and education. The Canadian readout also mentioned the positive momentum in bilateral relations after the two PMs had their breakthrough meeting on the margins of the G7 Leaders' Summit in June. Experts believe that the restart of trade talks and the opportunity to take a new and more ambitious approach to the relationship is a significant development. 'The PMs meeting is the clearest sign yet that the Canada-India reset is not only holding but accelerating and deepening,' said Vina Nadjibulla, vice-president, research and strategy with the Asia-Pacific Foundation of Canada. The Canadian government website reports that India was Canada's seventh-largest goods and services trading partner in 2024 with $30.9 billion two-way trade. The upcoming visit of Carney to India is expected to further boost bilateral ties and drive growth in both countries.