Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will arrive in Mumbai today for his first official visit to India. The four-day trip is seen as Prime Minister Carney’s latest effort to diversify trade outside the United States and renew ties with India, the world’s fourth-largest economy.
Carney is due to arrive in Mumbai later today after his plane left Ottawa on Thursday. He will also visit Australia and Japan next week.
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“At the invitation of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of Canada, The Right Honorable Mark Carney, will pay an official visit to India from February 27 to March 2, 2026. This will be Prime Minister Carney’s first official visit to India,” the government said, announcing the Canadian Prime Minister’s visit to India.
The aim of the visit is to “broaden” bilateral ties and establish new partnerships across key sectors, including defence, energy and Artificial intelligence (AI), according to a press release issued by Carney’s office earlier this week.
“Leaders will focus on elevating and expanding the Canada-India relationship with ambitious new partnerships in trade, energy, technology and artificial intelligence, talent and culture, and defence,” the statement said.
The two leaders last met in November 2025 on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg to review progress in the India-Canada partnership.
What’s on Carney’s agenda?
Prime Minister Carney will arrive in Mumbai today, February 27. Over the next two days, he will participate in separate business engagements, interacting with Indian and Canadian CEOs, industry and financial experts, innovators, educators, as well as Canadian pension funds based in India, the government said.
“Prime Minister Carney will arrive in New Delhi on March 1. On March 2, the two Prime Ministers (Carney and Prime Minister Modi) will hold delegation-level talks in Hyderabad,” it said.
The two leaders are expected to review the progress made to date in various areas of India-Canada strategic partnership, building on their earlier meetings in Kananaskis (June 2025) and Johannesburg (November 2025).
They will also assess continued cooperation in key pillars, including trade and investment, energy, critical minerals, agriculture, education, research and innovation and people-to-people ties, the government said, adding that the two leaders will also exchange views on regional and global developments.
Forum of CEOs of India and Canada
Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Carney will also attend the India-Canada CEO Forum scheduled for March 2.
“Carney’s visit to India comes at an important moment in the normalization of bilateral relations between India and Canada. Both Prime Ministers have earlier agreed to pursue a constructive and balanced partnership based on mutual respect for each other’s concerns and sensitivities, strong people-to-people ties and growing economic complementarity,” a government statement said.
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The Carney-Modi meeting will provide an opportunity to reaffirm the positive momentum and shared vision of India and Canada in building a forward-looking partnership, the company said.
Thawing diplomatic relations
India and Canada agreed last year to restore diplomatic services after Ottawa accused New Delhi of an alleged role in the killing of a Sikh separatist leader in 2023, turning into a spat that has severely strained relations between the two countries.
In September 2023, Carney’s predecessor, Justin Trudeau, announced in Parliament that there were credible allegations of India’s connection to the killing of Canadian Hareep Singh Nijjar near Vancouver. New Delhi vehemently denied the allegation, accusing the Trudeau government of harboring extremists.
The diplomatic row escalated in October 2024, leading to the reciprocal recall and expulsion of high commissioners and diplomats. After that, however, the political scene changed Leader of the Liberal Party Carney’s victory in the April 2025 general election paves the way for reconciliation.
Carney’s visit to India marks a major diplomatic “reset”.
Objectives of economic cooperation
The visit comes at a time of significant economic cooperation. In 2024, India became Canada’s seventh largest trading partner, with total two-way trade reaching US$30.8 billion.
Building on the groundwork laid during last year’s G20 leaders’ summit, the two countries agreed to formally launch negotiations on Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). The ambitious pact aims to more than double bilateral trade to $70 billion by 2030.
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US President Donald Trump has been seen in Canada as a threat to the country’s economy and sovereignty, particularly with his claims that Canada should be “The 51st state.”
“Donald Trump’s rhetoric and policies are clearly pushing Canada to diversify its economic and trade relations not only with other Western countries outside the US, but also with countries like China and India,” Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal, told the AP.
Focus on trade deal
Dinesh Patnaik, Indian High Commissioner in OttawaBloomberg said that the trip will cover a “huge” agenda that could be formalized in collaborative agreements in research, artificial intelligence, quantum computing and education.
Patnaik said the visit is likely to include an agreement to raise Canada uranium export 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, he said.
Carney’s visit to India comes at an important moment in the normalization of bilateral relations between India and Canada.
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, both economies have developed and the momentum to reach an agreement is rising, he said.
Key things
- The visit is a strategic effort to diversify Canada’s trade relations, especially after tensions with the US
- Prime Ministers Carney and Modi aim to significantly boost bilateral trade through a comprehensive economic partnership agreement.
- The focus on sectors such as energy, artificial intelligence and defense highlights the evolving economic environment between India and Canada.
