Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to India this week is expected to cement diplomatic ties between the two countries and unlock a wave of new business opportunities, including nuclear power, oil and critical minerals, a Bloomberg report said, citing an Indian official.
Dinesh Patnaik, India’s high commissioner in Ottawa, told the news portal that the trip will include a “huge” agenda that could be formalized in cooperation agreements in research, artificial intelligence, quantum computing and education.
Patnaik said the visit is likely to include an agreement to increase Canada’s uranium exports to India. In addition, India is interested in buying Canadian heavy oil and other energy resources, while also considering investments in infrastructure projects such as pipelines and terminals.
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A shift in bonds
The trip marks a big change in a relationship that was seriously strained a year ago. In 2024, Canada decided to expel six Indian officials, alleging that government-linked agents were conducting a campaign of violence, intimidation and extortion against Canadian citizens. This comes about a year after then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stunned Canadians by saying there were credible claims India was responsible for the murder of a Sikh activist in British Columbia.
After Carney replaced Trudeau, everything changed. “We are looking at a total reset of the relationship,” Patnaik said in an interview to a news agency.
“We’re not school kids with a single problem — you took my bag, you took my lunch box,” he said. “You are the largest democracy in terms of size, we are the largest in terms of population. And so it is inevitable and natural for us to work together, and so this visit seals that.”
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Carney flies to India on Thursday before continuing to Australia and Japan. The trip underscores his trade-oriented foreign policy and is key to his bid to overcome a diplomatic hiatus.
“The visit comes at an important moment in the normalization of bilateral relations between India and Canada,” India’s Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement Thursday, adding that the leaders of the two countries “agreed to pursue a constructive and balanced partnership based on mutual respect for each other’s concerns and sensitivities.”
Focus on the business deal
In November, Carney and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to resume talks on a free trade agreement with the potential to sign it within a year, according to Patnaik. Despite years of effort and setbacks, Patnaik noted that both economies have developed and the momentum to reach an agreement is rising.
As evidence of this shift, he pointed to India’s recent landmark agreement with the European Union. “Political intent overshadows everything,” he said.
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Patnaik noted a shift in Canada’s approach under Carney’s leadership.
“He realized that Canada has to behave as a global power, which means that a global power has multidimensional relationships with all countries,” Patnaik said.
He mentioned that India appreciated Carney’s speech at the Davos summit, which highlighted a new phase of superpower competition and suggested a “variable geometry” strategy for middle powers that involves informing flexible alliances to prevent dominance by larger nations.
