Canada resets India ties, PM Modi likely to visit in December

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit Canada on December 11-12, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Thursday. While speaking with visitors at a Calgary restaurant ahead of Monday's referendum vote, Carney said that he "just spoke" to PM Modi and that the Indian leader will visit Toronto and Ottawa. "We'll see if we can broaden it out," he added. The comments come against the backdrop of increased diplomatic activity between the two countries, with two senior members of Carney's cabinet visiting India simultaneously this week.

Following his telephone conversation with Carney, Modi said in a post on X, "Had a warm and productive conversation with Prime Minister Mark Carney. We agreed to build on the positive momentum in India-Canada ties and work towards concrete outcomes across key areas of our Strategic Partnership, including trade, energy, technology, security and people-to-people ties. Together, India and Canada are contributing towards a more stable and prosperous world. @MarkJCarney." Modi is also expected to visit Brussels on December 16-17, during which the India-EU free trade agreement (FTA) is likely to be signed.

Canada is fast-tracking efforts to strengthen ties with India and sign an FTA in December during PM Modi's trip to Ottawa, as part of a strategic shift to reduce its trade reliance on the United States. Canada's foreign and trade ministers visited India simultaneously this week, with foreign minister Anita Anand holding meetings with PM Modi and external affairs minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday.


Meanwhile, Canada's international trade minister Maninder Sidhu is leading a 300-member trade delegation to India. This is the largest trade delegation Canada has sent to India in more than 30 years. The trade mission includes businesses from Canada's aerospace, space, clean technologies, energy transition, information and communication technologies, life sciences and agri-food sectors.

Canada is aiming to double exports to markets beyond the US over the next decade, including more than doubling two-way trade with India to $70 billion annually by 2030. In 2025, two-way goods and services trade between Canada and India totalled $30.4 billion, of which $11.0 billion was in goods, according to a Canadian government statement.

In 2025, Canada's merchandise exports to India totalled $3.9 billion, led by vegetables, mineral fuels and oils, and wood pulp. Merchandise imports from India amounted to $9.7 billion, primarily consisting of precious stones and metals, machinery and pharmaceutical products.