Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Johannesburg, Ottawa’s High Commissioner to India Christopher Cooter said Ottawa wants to a “reliable partner” for New Delhi by deepening the strategic partnership.
“To be clear, Canada is poised to be the reliable partner India needs to help power its ambitious growth targets towards 2030 and beyond. For both countries, this is a defining moment to move beyond transactional trade toward a more comprehensive and indeed strategic partnership,” High Commissioner Cooter said at an event in New Delhi organised jointly by Council for Strategic and Defense Research (CSDR) and Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada.
He said, “We face converging and daunting challenges – supply chain vulnerabilities, climate imperatives, and technological disruption. For Canada and India – two democracies with shared interests and complementary strengths – this is not a time for incrementalism. It is a time for bold, pragmatic and sustained collaboration built on mutual respect.”
On 23 November, Prime Ministers Modi and Carney decided to relaunch a “high-ambition” Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which is aimed at doubling bilateral trade to $50 billion by 2030. In 2024, India-Canada bilateral trade reached $22 billion.
India and Canada began negotiating the CEPA in 2010 but the process stalled in 2017 as tensions between New Delhi and Ottawa peaked over Khalistani separatists operating in that country.
Subsequently, in 2022 both sides decided to negotiate an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) – a toned down version of CEPA – which also got stalled owing to the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen and Khalistan advocate, in June. India had designated Nijjar a terrorist in 2020 and accused him of leading a militant group.
In September 2023, former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated in Parliament that there were “credible allegations” of a potential link between “agents of the government of India” and Nijjar’s killing.
India vehemently dismissed the allegations as “absurd and motivated” and a “smear campaign,” accusing Canada of providing safe haven to Khalistani extremists and failing to act on its concerns.
The initial allegations triggered a tit-for-tat expulsion of senior diplomats from both countries in September 2023. India also temporarily suspended visa services for Canadian citizens.
In October 2024, the row escalated further with both countries expelling six more diplomats each after Canadian police made new claims of Indian official involvement in a broader criminal network.
Eventually, after the return of high commissioners in August 2025, the two prime ministers agreed to reset ties and return to the previous diplomatic staffing levels in order to meet the consular demands and to strengthen people-to-people linkages.
Modi has also extended an invitation to Prime Minister Carney to visit in early 2026.
“Trade alone is not enough … We must invest in our innovation ecosystems – in clean technologies, AI, quantum computing, aerospace, and advanced manufacturing. These are not abstract ambitions; they are practical pathways to jobs, security, and sustainability,” the High Commissioner said.
“What is clear to me is that Canada and India have the tools, resources and the talent to build a partnership that is not only resilient, but transformative,” he stressed.
India and Canada along with Australia also launched a new trilateral initiative called Australia–Canada–India Technology and Innovation Partnership (ACITI) to boost cooperation in critical and emerging technologies.
