India will send its largest-ever trade delegation to Canada next week

India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, will be in Canada from May 25 to 27 with the largest Indian trade and investment delegation ever to visit a country.

The delegation includes “representatives from the energy, infrastructure, technology, manufacturing, investment and innovation sectors,” according to Prashant Srivastava, president of the Toronto-based Indo-Canadian Chamber of Commerce (ICCC).

This is not a “routine diplomatic engagement”.

Srivastava added that Canada’s critical mineral and monetary reserves, coupled with India’s consumer market of 1.4 billion people, provide opportunities for businesses on both sides.

During Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to New Delhi in March, the two countries signed agreements covering critical minerals, clean energy cooperation and a historic agreement on the supply of uranium worth $1.9 billion.

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Prime Minister Mark Carney and his Indian counterpart signed a series of agreements expanding the Canada-India partnership in energy and critical minerals, technology and AI, talent, culture and defense, worth a total of $5.5 billion. They also committed to signing a free trade agreement by the end of the year.

Ottawa and Delhi have also relaunched negotiations for a free trade agreement. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the goal was to achieve “all the potential of economic cooperation” and boost bilateral trade to $50 billion by 2030.

Goyal’s trip to Canada is expected to catalyze trade talks between the two countries.

India, a “natural partner”: Carney

All this seemed impossible just a year ago.

Relations between Canada and India reached a historic low in 2023, after then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau publicly claimed the Indian government’s involvement in the murder of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar near Vancouver. Both sides recalled diplomatic staff, trade negotiations were frozen and uncertainty loomed over economic relations.

When Carney took over from Trudeau last year, things changed. In light of US President Donald Trump’s tariff wars, Carney called India a “natural partner” during a visit to Mumbai in February 2026.

Although relations between Ottawa and Delhi have improved considerably since then, India continues to raise the issue of Sikh separatists operating on Canadian soil. Randhir Jaiswal, a spokesperson for India’s foreign ministry, told reporters earlier this month that “India has repeatedly urged the Canadian government to take effective action against anti-India extremist elements operating from its soil.”

Speaking in March, Carney said there had been “progress” with India on the issue of foreign interference, while reiterating that Canada “would not tolerate foreign interference or transnational repression, from anyone.”

But that’s not a problem, experts say.

“Political relations have improved,” said Jawed Ashraf, a former Indian diplomat and current president of the Trade Promotion Organization of India. “We are seeing a much more constructive and positive approach from Canada, but we will continue to address these issues.”

He noted that Commerce Minister Goyal is visiting Canada “with the very serious intention of making concrete progress in the negotiations” on the Canada-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, known as CEPA.

Trade between Canada and India currently stands at $10 billion, but a “We cannot measure the importance of this relationship only in terms of commercial value,” Achraf said.

The push to grow that trade to $50 billion over the next four years comes as Ottawa and Delhi seek to diversify away from their traditional trading partners. For Canada, the United States under President Donald Trump is not as reliable as it has been historically. For India, it is imperative to reduce its trade dependence on the United States and China, experts say.

India has recently been working to finalize new free trade agreements. Ashraf said the trade deal with the United Kingdom last year and another with the European Union finalized this year are India’s signal to the world that it is open for business.

“We are looking forward to connecting, in a sense, a network of partnerships that would bring together the EU, Canada, India, the UK, Australia and Southeast Asia, in a sort of network of relationships and business partnerships,” Achraf said. “Canada has all the forces and resources we need.”

Some Canadian experts see huge opportunities in a closer partnership with India.

Partha Mohanram, director of the India Innovation Institute at the University of Toronto, told the UK Guardian that India is “a great country to hold on to”.

“Most other economies in the world, while rich, are extremely stagnant, because of their demographics. A deal with India gives you a significant share of a rapidly growing economy.”

“A period of great economic uncertainty”

ICCC President Srivastava argues that India is crucial to Canada’s China plus one strategy – a policy move aimed at reducing dependence on Chinese imports.

“There is a huge, huge opportunity, especially in IT, AI and education related services, in which the two countries would complement [each other]“said Srivastava.

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Canadian businesses are also seeking simpler entry rules into India and clarity on taxation, compliance, regulatory transparency and streamlined administrative processes. The ICCC hopes that a free trade agreement will resolve these issues and make India’s operating environment more attractive, especially for small and medium-sized businesses.

India also aims to show Canadian institutional investors that it is an attractive destination for their money. Canadian companies have invested $3.9 billion in India between 2000 and March 2024, with pension funds becoming leading investors. With India currently facing record outflows of foreign investment and a weakening rupee, maintaining foreign investment could be a priority.

When the Indian delegation led by Commerce Minister Goyal lands in Ottawa, the goal will be not only to advance free trade negotiations, but also to help businesses across borders connect with each other, Achraf said.

“The agreements made by governments… open the doors. But it is up to companies to actually do business,” he said, adding that the visit is about “diversifying economic partnerships in a time of great economic uncertainty and fluidity.”