Canada’s new Prime Minister Mark Carney has directed his government to rebuild relations with India and open fresh trade corridors across Asia. Speaking in Gyeongju, South Korea, he said his plan to diversify Ottawa’s global partnerships was already showing results, pointing to what he described as “the progress we have been making with India”.
He explained that Foreign Minister Anita Anand and other cabinet colleagues have been in regular contact with their Indian counterparts to move this plan forward. The goal, he said, is to build a stronger economy at home while creating new opportunities abroad.
“We are working to strengthen our economy at home and build these partnerships abroad to reduce our reliance on the United States,” he said.
In a statement, the Prime Minister’s Office said Canada has launched an “ambitious new mission” to double its non-US exports within the next decade. The statement underlined that Ottawa is committed to working with partners across the Indo-Pacific region to unlock “new opportunities for Canadian workers and businesses”.
Carney echoed that optimism, saying, “The Indo-Pacific presents enormous opportunities for Canadian workers and businesses. Canada is ready to seize these opportunities and play to win.”
The renewed emphasis on India reflects a significant strategic shift. Canada has long depended on the US market, but with tariffs and trade tensions growing, Ottawa is turning toward emerging economies, and India stands out as a natural partner.
With one of the fastest-growing economies in the world and a large technology-driven market, India offers what Carney sees as a major opportunity for Canada to expand its trade and investment footprint.
Carney, who took office in March this year, has also worked to mend a diplomatic relationship that had deteriorated under his predecessor, Justin Trudeau. Ties between Ottawa and New Delhi hit a low point in 2023 after Trudeau claimed in Parliament that Indian agents were linked to the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia.
India dismissed the allegations as “absurd” and “politically motivated”. The dispute deepened when Canada sought to question Indian diplomats by requesting a waiver of immunity, leading New Delhi to expel six Canadian diplomats.
Relations began to thaw after Carney met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the G7 Summit in Kananaskis in June. That meeting paved the way for the restoration of high commissioners in both capitals, marking the first visible step toward a diplomatic reset.
In the following months, the two sides maintained a steady exchange of visits. In October, Foreign Minister Anita Anand travelled to New Delhi to meet External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal. Around the same time, Goyal met Canada’s Minister of International Trade, Maninder Sidhu, to discuss trade and investment prospects.
Both governments have signalled that more high-level visits are planned later this year. New Delhi has also invited Prime Minister Carney to attend the AI Impact Summit scheduled for February next year, a gesture widely viewed as another step toward normalising relations between the two countries.
For Carney, rebuilding trust with India is more than diplomacy, it is part of a broader vision to secure Canada’s economic future in an increasingly competitive world.
