Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney will begin his first-ever four-day state visit to India on Friday to restore bilateral relations which remained frosty since his predecessor Justin Trudeau’s claims of India’s ‘interference’ soured ties in 2023.
In a significant shift in its position, Ottawa said that it believes India is no longer linked to violent crimes in Canada, the media reports said on Thursday.
The visit is being seen as part of Ottawa’s effort to pursue a more “pragmatic” foreign policy and deeper economic ties with India.
Relations between the two countries deteriorated sharply after the June 2023 killing of a pro-Khalistani activist and Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar outside a gurdwara in British Columbia. In September, Trudeau, who ran government with a pro-Khalistani political outfit’s support, said there was “credible” evidence linking agents of the Indian government to Nijjar’s death, an allegation New Delhi strongly denied.
The dispute led to the expulsion of diplomats from both countries and a prolonged diplomatic standoff.
This week, Canadian officials sought to mend fences: “Canada has ‘no tolerance’ for foreign involvement in Canadian internal affairs. I really don’t think we’d be taking this (PM Carney’s) trip if we thought these kinds of activities were continuing,” a senior Canadian government official said.
“We have a mature, robust discussion with the Government of India on these issues, and we have robust safeguards in place to avoid foreign interference.”
There has been a “systematic engagement” with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the Government in India. “These issues have been raised regularly, and we are confident that we have the basis for further productive discussion.”
Both countries, sailing in the same boat, face rapidly shifting global trade policies and uncertainty over US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and geopolitical policies, adding urgency to efforts to diversify economic partnerships. Carney’s office said his discussions will focus on “ambitious new partnerships in trade, energy, technology and artificial intelligence (AI), talent and culture, and defense.”
Trade Boost
India, the world’s fastest-growing major economy, was Canada’s seventh-largest goods and services trading partner in 2024, with two-way trade valued at USD 30.8 billion. Their proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) aims to more than double it to USD 70 billion by 2030, the reports indicated.
“That means big new opportunities for Canadian workers and businesses,” Carney said in November 2025, after meeting PM Modi on the sidelines of a G20 summit in South Africa.
“India and Canada have great potential in strengthening trade and investment,” PM Modi said at the time.
More than 600 Canadian companies do business in India, in sectors such as IT, banking, health sciences, and financial services. India’s main exports to Canada include pharmaceuticals, gems, jewelery and precious stones, and seafood.
In New Delhi, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday that PM Mark Carney will arrive in India on February 27 on a four-day state visit aimed at expanding bilateral ties and forging new partnerships across key sectors.
He will begin his trip in Mumbai, India’s financial capital, before traveling to New Delhi on March 1 to hold talks with PM Modi. In Mumbai, Carney will engage with business leaders seeking closer collaboration between companies in both countries.
In New Delhi, the two PMs “will review the progress achieved till date across diverse areas of the India-Canada strategic partnership, building on their earlier meetings in Kananaskis (June 2025) and Johannesburg (November 2025),” the MEA said.
They will also take stock of ongoing cooperation in key pillars, including trade and investment, energy, critical minerals, agriculture, education, research, and innovation, and people-to-people ties.
The trip comes after Carney and PM Modi agreed in November 2025 to formally launch negotiations on a CEPA.
PM Modi had also traveled to Canada to attend the G7 Summit in June 2025, which marked a ‘reset’ in ties after their bilateral relations plummeted during the tenure of Trudeau in 2023-24.
The MEA said the Canadian PM’s visit comes at a critical juncture in the “normalisation” of India-Canada bilateral relations. “The two Prime Ministers have earlier agreed to pursue a constructive and balanced partnership grounded in mutual respect for each other’s concerns and sensitivities, strong people-to-people ties, and growing economic complementarities.”
terror
Ahead of PM Carney’s India visit, his government decided to revoke the citizenship of Tahawwur Rana Hussain, a key accused in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack, on charges of ‘misrepresentation’ in getting Canadian citizenship, the media reported on Monday.
Pakistan-born Rana, 64, is a close associate of Pakistani-American David Coleman Headley, among the key conspirators behind the Mumbai terror attack. Rana is currently in Indian custody, awaiting trial.
Canada has also been home to activists of ‘Khalistan.’ It has nearly 2.8 million people who are either Indian or of Indian origin, and has the largest Sikh population outside India, including fringe separatist elements.
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