Toronto: Four Cabinet Ministers and the Premiers of two provinces will be part of the high-powered delegation joining Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney are he travels to India for a bilateral visit beginning on Friday. The composition of delegation underscores the focus on strengthening the relationship, particularly in the economic, trade and defence spheres.
Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand had announced on Monday that she will be joining Carney as she posted the intent was “to further diversify trade and to unlock additional opportunities for Canadians, including by elevating all sectors of the Canadian economy and enhancing our people to people ties”.
On Tuesday, Minister of Finance and National Revenue François-Philippe Champagne confirmed his participation, posting, “Trade diversification is key to a resilient Canadian economy.” Champagne will also travel to Australia.
Asked about the trip by reporters in Ottawa on Tuesday, Champagne described it as “very timely” and added that it was “key for Canada to have a strategic relationship” with India.
“There are a lot of things on the economic front. I’ve already reached out to my colleague the Finance Minister (Nirmala Sitharaman); we’ve known each other for ten years,” he noted.
Also confirming his presence was Minister of International Trade Maninder Sidhu, who stated the emphasis will be “to strengthen economic partnerships, attract investment, and open new markets for Canadian businesses — advancing our ambitious goal of increasing non-US exports by 300 billion Canadian dollars”. Launch of negotiations towards the comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) is expected during the visit.
Minister of National Defence David McGuinty, as defence collaboration will be among the sectors the two countries want to cultivate through agreements and MoUs during the visit. McGuinty will join Carney on the following legs of his trip – in Australia and Japan.
Scott Moe, Premier (equivalent of Chief Minister) of the province of Alberta, and his New Brunswick counterpart Susan Holt will also be arriving with the PM.
Finally, as per the official list seen by the Hindustan Times, also on board will be special adviser on economic and security partnership Matt Jeneroux. The Alberta MP was re-elected as a Conservative in the April 2024 Federal election but defected to the ruling Liberals earlier this month.
The visit to India will begin on Friday and Carney will leave for Australia on March 2.
It will be the first bilateral visit by a Canadian PM to India since the February 2018 trip by Carney’s predecessor Justin Trudeau. That 11-day jaunt proved a disaster as his official engagements were scheduled for the last couple of days of that expansive trip. Also, Jaspal Atwal, convicted for the murder of visiting Punjab Minister Malkiat Singh Sidhu in Vancouver Island in 1986, turned up at an official reception hosted by the Canadian High Commission.
Relations had cratered in September 2023 when Trudeau stated in the House of Commons that there were “credible allegations” of a potential link between Indian agents and the killing of pro-Khalistan figure Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18 that year. India described those accusations as “absurd” and “motivated”.
Ties improved after Carney succeeded Trudeau as PM in March last year and then retained power in the April 2025 Federal election.
A reset came after Carney met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the margins of the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Kananaskis in June 2025. After High Commissioners were reinstated in both capitals, they met again at the G20 summit in Johannesburg in November, where Modi invited Carney to India and the two countries announced they will undertake fresh negotiations towards the CEPA .
India’s High Commissioner to Ottawa Dinesh Patnaik said, “Every aspect of the relationship will be addressed and there will be a lot of activity. We are looking at a comprehensive package.”
