Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Canada’s Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development Maninder Sidhu met on December 3 for talks on the framework, goals and process for restarting negotiations on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between the two countries.
The development comes after both countries agreed to resume talks on the pact, which aims to lift bilateral trade to $50 billion by 2030. It also potentially signals the end of a period of strained ties that brought negotiations to a stop in 2023.
Goyal described the meeting as “productive” and said the two sides took an initial look at the overall approach, macro objectives and modalities for the agreement.
He also committed to leading a high-level trade and investment delegation to Canada next year, a move intended to signal policy stability and business intent.
For Canada, the renewed dialogue marks a shift from its stance last year, when it paused CEPA negotiations after tensions escalated over allegations made by then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau regarding the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
The tensions interrupted a process in which the two countries had already completed more than six rounds of talks.
CEPA, which is basically a broad free trade agreement, seeks to reduce or eliminate customs duties on most traded goods, while also easing rules for the movement of skilled workers and investment.
Both India and Canada are looking at it as a pathway to strengthen supply chains and stabilise economic cooperation after a turbulent phase.
Data on trade between the two sides currently shows a mixed picture. India’s exports to Canada rose 9.8 per cent to $4.22 billion in 2024-25, up from $3.84 billion the previous year. Imports dipped 2.33 per cent to $4.44 billion in the last fiscal from $4.55 billion in 2023-24.
The broader goods and services trade between the two countries reached $18.38 billion in 2023.
Political signalling has also played a part in the latest development. A renewed sense of engagement became palpable after PM Modi met Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Kananaskis in June. The meeting helped reset the tone between New Delhi and Ottawa and created diplomatic space for trade talks to resume.
People-to-people ties have remained a central pillar of India-Canada partnership. According to latest available data, Canada hosts around 2.9 million people of Indian origin and more than 4,27,000 Indian students. These links have long been considered a stabilising factor, even during periods of tense ties.