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India, Canada begin negotiations towards comprehensive economic partnership agreement
The initial meetings are taking place virtually between the two sides, with lead negotiators appointed for the various verticals within the range of the agreement. Negotiators are focused on issues like non-tariff barriers, customs, sanitary and phytosanitary norms
Toronto: Given the sense of urgency indicated by the Prime Ministers of the two countries, formal negotiations towards a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) between India and Canada have commenced, with initial meetings already held this month.
Canada’s chief trade negotiator for India Bruce Christie was in New Delhi as the terms of reference for the pact were finalised early this month prior to the PMs announcing the launch of formal negotiations following their bilateral meeting on March 2.
“Chief negotiators met in person in New Delhi to advance the work to implement the objectives outlined in the joint statement, and negotiators will engage in initial meetings throughout March, with further rounds planned for the coming months,” a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada (GAC), the country’s foreign ministry informed the Hindustan Times.
The joint statement referred was the document released after PMs Mark Carney and Narendra Modi met in New Delhi, which will serve as a roadmap towards building out the relationship. Among the foundational layers identified in the statement was CEPA as they “expressed their shared commitment to conclude the talks by end-2026” with the objective of “expanding bilateral trade to 70 billion Canadaian dollars or ₹4.65 lakh crore by 2030”.
The initial meetings are taking place virtually between the two sides, with lead negotiators appointed for the various verticals within the range of the agreement. Negotiators are focused on issues like non-tariff barriers, customs, sanitary and phytosanitary norms, among others, a senior Indian official said, adding, “It’s continuous process, there’s no wastage of purpose.”
A policy reported from the Asia-Pacific Foundation of Canada noted that a CEPA with India was “no longer optional” for Canada but it was “strategic”. The report said, “In an era of US tariff volatility and China-related economic risk, trade and economic diversification has become a strategic imperative. India is negotiating trade agreements at speed with other major economies. Unless Canada follows through on the recent CEPA commitment, Canada will forfeit the opportunity to gain preferential access to the Indian market and risk strategic marginalisation in one of the world’s fastest-growing economies.”
Part of Carney’s delegation visiting India was Minister of International Trade Maninder Sidhu. He has invited Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal to visit Canada this spring. He will be accompanied by “an investment and trade delegation to Canada this spring to expand commercial opportunities and deepen economic collaboration between the two countries”, a release from GAC said, earlier this month.
Launch of fresh negotiations towards the CEPA was announced when Carney and Modi met on the margins of the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg in November last year.
CEPA negotiations originally began in 2010 but were dropped for an early progress trade agreement or EPTA in 2021. That came to a halt in August 2023, a month before relations cratered when then Canadian PM Justin Trudeau stated in the House of Commons on September 18, 2023, that there were “credible allegations” of a potential link between Indian agents and the killing of pro-Khalistan figure Hardeep Singh Nijjar three months earlier in Surrey, British Columbia.
India described those accusations as “absurd” and “motivated”.
Ties reset after Carney assumed charge as PM in March last year and have gathered momentum since he met Modi on the margins of the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Kananaskis in June 2025.
