Sunday March 1, 2026 | MUMBAI, INDIA
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends [VICTORIA, BC]
Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada is seeking a more ambitious economic partnership with India, noting this is the “first visit in eight years” (former prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited India in 2018).
That was among his opening remarks, addressing the Canada-India Forum in Mumbai, India. Carney delivered his remarks first in French, then in English which is a signal of a continued nod to the importance of Quebec in Canadian politics and the national economy.
Carney’s visit to India is part of a 10-day trade mission February 26 to March 7 that starts in India and will continue Australia and then Japan. Canada’s national media is on the trip with the prime minister.
Carney pointed out the “risks of extreme global integration” and that tariffs are being used as “leverage” and that supply chains are being exploited.
Digital sovereignty was highlighted by Carney, and said Canada has been the first country to “understand that the strategic global structure was changing”, a gentle reminder of his effective speech to a world economic audience in Davos in January.
Valued-based realism is required in this new economy as well as being principled and pragmatic, Carney outlined.
More for a Canadian audience, the prime minister repeated his manta of Canada’s “strength of our values and the value of our strength”, but he paired that with “India is one of our natural partners”.
Canada is “rapidly diversifying abroad”, said Carney, saying that now 20 trade and security deals have been struck in four months. That’s part of the Carney Liberal government’s goal to diversify trade away from intense dependence on selling exports to markets in the United States.
Canada wants to “aim higher and be more strategic” in trade with India said Carney, which he says is about to “move to the next level”.
Two-way investments between Canada and India stand at $100 billion (in fixed investment) and two-way trade exceeding $30 billion per year. “That level of investments is nowhere near our potential,” said Carney.
For Canada, the average tariff rate is less than five percent, said Carney, adding that 85% of goods enter Canada tariff-free.
Canada is “a stable reliable partner in a world that is anything but”, said Carney, adding that two million Canadians can trace their roots to India and that 400,000 Indian people study in Canada (four times the number who study in the UK).
Security, energy and technology were areas that Carney and Prime Minister of India Modi agreed to re-engage on while at the G7 in Alberta in August 2025.
At the G20 in Johannesburg in November, there was engagement between Canada, India and Australia on critical minerals and technology.
The intention is now to double two-way trade between Canada and India by 2030, said Carney yesterday. The goal is to sign that agreement by the end of this year, he said.
Foreign ministers have met five times in five months, said Carney about Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand and her Indian counterpart. Ministers of Environment, AI and Trade have all led delegations to India on this tip. Minister of Finance Champagne is also on the trip, as well as the head of Canada’s civil service and the premiers of Saskatchewan (Scott Moe) and New Brunswick (Susan Holt) to get a sense of the depth and breadth of the opportunities.
Economic sectors:
Canada is a food and energy superpower, said Carney, putting an earmark on economic sectors that are strong in Saskatchewan and New Brunswick. LNG export capacity to Asia is expected to increase by 50 million tonnes in the coming years (that would also include from BC).
“It extends to nuclear cooperation,” Carney added, which would loop in a significant impact effort in Ontario’s economy — mining of uranium and building reactors. Critical minerals from Canada will be useful in India’s manufacturing and clean tech, said Carney.
India can help us to double our grid with clean power by 2040.
“India’s leadership in AI and the digital economy aligns well with our mission to develop and commercialize those technologies as well as quantum and to deepen our defence innovation,” said Carney.
Having a “single dependency in something strategic” is risky — Carney noted food, oil, energy, semi-conductors, elements of intelligence and aerospace.
“The no-regret strategy is to have more diversified partners,” said Carney in a Q&A following his speech.
Confident and ambitious:
“Canada is clear eyed about the world as it is. And we are equally determined to forge a new path in it,” said Carney, further describing Canada as a “confident and ambitious nation”.
===== RELATED:
- Carney’s next trade mission: India, Australia and Japan (February 23, 2026)
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