India Dispatches 150-Strong Business Delegation to Canada for CEPA Talks
India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal departed for Canada on Saturday, May 23, leading a delegation of nearly 150 Indian business leaders for a three-day visit aimed at advancing a landmark bilateral free trade agreement. The delegation will hold engagements in Ottawa on May 25 and carry out a two-day programme in Toronto from May 26 to 27, with Goyal scheduled to meet Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Canada’s Minister of International Trade Maninder Sidhu. Business Today
The visit carries forward the mandate given by the prime ministers of India and Canada during Carney’s visit to India in March 2026, and seeks to build fresh momentum in bilateral engagement across trade, investment, energy, technology, and people-to-people ties. IANS News
The centrepiece of the trip is the India-Canada Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, known as CEPA. The Terms of Reference for the pact were signed during Carney’s visit to India on March 2, 2026. While the first round of negotiations was held virtually in March, the second round concluded on May 8. Business Today
“Both sides are working towards an early conclusion of a balanced and mutually beneficial CEPA by end of 2026, with a shared ambition to expand bilateral trade to CAD 70 billion by 2030,” an official release said. Bilateral trade stood at $8.5 billion in the financial year 2025, with significant potential for expansion across sectors. Business Today
Goyal, speaking ahead of his departure, pointed to the scale of existing Canadian business presence in India as evidence of an already strong foundation. Nearly 600 Canadian companies operate in India, with both sides aiming to raise that number to 1,000. He said there was considerable interest and enthusiasm on the Canadian side for a free trade agreement with India, and that the proposed pact would complement the strengths of both countries. New Kerala
The minister also noted that Canada is a reliable partner for uranium and critical minerals for India. That framing reflects a broader strategic calculation: as India expands its nuclear energy capacity and builds out supply chains for clean technology, Canadian uranium reserves and critical mineral deposits have taken on direct economic relevance for New Delhi. Business Today
Goyal is also scheduled to meet representatives of the Maple Eight — Canada’s largest public pension funds — to explore potential investments in India. Canada’s pension funds are among the world’s largest institutional investors. Any meaningful commitment from that group would represent a significant capital injection into Indian infrastructure and financial markets. Business Today
The delegation will engage with Canadian counterparts across priority sectors including technology and artificial intelligence, clean energy and critical minerals, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, aerospace and defence, and food processing and agri-tech. An official statement described these as areas where the two countries possess highly complementary strengths and where the opportunity for joint investment, research and development, and supply chain partnerships is most significant. The Tribune
The depth of this week’s engagement reflects how far the India-Canada relationship has travelled in a short period. Relations had been severely damaged by former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegation that New Delhi was involved in the murder of Khalistani Sikh extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil in 2023. The accusation triggered a prolonged diplomatic freeze, the expulsion of diplomats from both sides, and the suspension of trade negotiations that had been ongoing for years. deccanherald
The reset began on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, in June 2025, when Modi and Carney agreed to rebuild the bilateral relationship. Their second meeting followed at the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, on November 23, 2025, where the two leaders agreed to formally launch CEPA negotiations encompassing goods, services, investment, agriculture, digital trade, mobility, and sustainable development. deccanherald
The formal Terms of Reference for the CEPA were signed on March 2, 2026, by Goyal and Sidhu in the presence of both prime ministers at Hyderabad House in New Delhi. Canadian Prime Minister Carney described the agreement as part of a broader evolution in bilateral ties — an expansion of a valued partnership with new ambition, focus, and foresight between two countries charting their own course for the future. Business Today
The timing of the Goyal visit also reflects a shared exposure to external trade pressures. Both India and Canada have been affected by United States President Donald Trump’s imposition of sweeping global tariffs, giving both governments a shared incentive to reduce dependence on the American market and diversify their trade relationships. deccanherald
For India, Canada offers access to energy, minerals, and advanced technology. For Canada, India represents a large and fast-growing consumer and industrial market with an expanding middle class. Canada’s total investment in India stands at $100 billion. The scale of that existing commitment suggests a commercial relationship that both governments are now working to formalise through a structured legal framework. Business Today
The regional and global implications extend beyond the bilateral relationship. A concluded India-Canada CEPA would be one of the most significant trade agreements between a South Asian economy and a G7 nation, and would reinforce India’s ongoing push to negotiate deals with the European Union and the United Kingdom simultaneously.
Both sides are working toward an early conclusion of the CEPA by the end of 2026. Following this week’s ministerial and business-level engagements in Ottawa and Toronto, further rounds of negotiations are expected to proceed through the second half of 2026 across the agreed priority sectors. The progress of those talks — particularly on sensitive areas such as agriculture, mobility, and pharmaceutical intellectual property — will determine whether the year-end deadline holds. The TribuneBusiness Today
