Canada-India Joint Statement 2026 Trade and Investment Forum

India and Canada launched the Canada-India Trade and Investment Forum at a ministerial-level meeting, issuing a joint statement reaffirming commitment to dee...

What Happened

India and Canada launched the Canada-India Trade and Investment Forum at a ministerial-level meeting, issuing a joint statement reaffirming commitment to deepening bilateral trade and investment ties.
The Forum is designed as a standing platform to bring together Canadian and Indian business leaders, foster commercial partnerships, and identify sectoral opportunities for expanded trade.
Both countries reiterated their commitment to advancing negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), with an aim to conclude talks by the end of 2026.
A "Team Canada Trade Mission" to India was announced for later in 2026, reflecting growing Canadian business interest in the Indian market.
Both sides agreed to enhance people-to-people ties, business mobility, and direct commercial linkages as enablers of expanded trade and investment — key pillars for operationalising the bilateral economic reset.

Static Topic Bridges

India-Canada Bilateral Relations: History and Reset

India and Canada established diplomatic relations in 1947, and the bilateral relationship has historically been shaped by a large Indian diaspora in Canada (over 1.8 million people of Indian origin), strong academic links, and growing trade. Relations experienced severe strain in 2023 following allegations of state-linked involvement in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil, leading to diplomatic expulsions, suspension of trade talks, and visa restrictions. The bilateral relationship began a formal reset following a change in Canadian government in 2025, with Prime Minister Mark Carney's administration prioritising economic pragmatism with India.

India-Canada diplomatic relations established: 1947.
Terms of Reference for India-Canada CEPA negotiations signed: March 2, 2026 (by India's Commerce Minister and Canada's Minister of International Trade).
CEPA negotiations formally launched: November 23, 2025, following agreement between both Prime Ministers.
Bilateral merchandise trade: USD 8.66 billion in FY 2024-25 (India's exports USD 4.22 billion; imports USD 4.44 billion).
Target: Double bilateral trade to USD 50 billion by 2030; triple trade by the same date has also been cited.
Projected CEPA GDP gain for Canada by 2035: USD 3.8–5.9 billion; trade boost: USD 4.4–6.5 billion.

Connection to this news: The Canada-India Trade and Investment Forum and joint statement represent the institutional architecture being built to operationalise the bilateral economic reset after the diplomatic freeze of 2023-24.

Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) — Framework

A CEPA is a comprehensive bilateral trade agreement that covers trade in goods, services, investment, intellectual property, digital trade, and regulatory cooperation — broader in scope than a standard Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which addresses primarily tariff reduction on goods. CEPAs are legally binding treaties under international trade law. India has been pursuing CEPAs as part of its broader trade liberalisation strategy, following the India-UAE CEPA (2022) and the India-Oman CEPA (signed December 2025, in force June 2026).

MoU (Memorandum of Understanding): non-binding political commitment.
FTA (Free Trade Agreement): binding; focuses on tariff elimination on goods.
CEPA (Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement): binding; covers goods + services + investment + IPR + digital trade + regulatory frameworks.
India's existing CEPAs: South Korea (2010), Japan (2011), UAE (2022), Oman (2025); FTAs with ASEAN, Sri Lanka, etc.
India-Canada CEPA aim: expand market access, support resilient supply chains, enable two-way economic growth.
Two rounds of CEPA negotiations have already been completed as of May 2026; a third round was due to begin in Ottawa.

Connection to this news: The joint statement and the Forum launch signal political commitment to completing the CEPA — the forum creates a business-level institutional mechanism to complement government-to-government negotiations.

India-Canada Trade: Key Sectors and Strategic Interests

Canada is a significant partner for India across multiple strategic sectors. India's interest in Canada spans critical minerals (lithium, cobalt, nickel — essential for electric vehicle batteries and clean energy transition), civil nuclear cooperation, petroleum and natural gas, agri-commodities (pulses, lentils), and technology collaboration. Canada's interest in India includes access to one of the world's fastest-growing consumer markets, export opportunities for Canadian agriculture, financial services, and clean technology.

Canada is a major supplier of pulses to India (lentils, yellow peas) — India imports 15-20% of its pulse requirements from Canada in peak years.
Canada holds approximately 9% of global proven reserves of crude oil (Alberta oil sands) and has been explored as an energy diversification source for India.
Civil nuclear cooperation: Canada is a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG); India-Canada nuclear cooperation agreement was signed in 2010 following the India-US civil nuclear deal (2008), but bilateral nuclear trade remained modest.
Critical minerals partnership: Canada is rich in lithium, cobalt, nickel, and rare earths — all critical for India's green energy transition under the National Green Hydrogen Mission and EV policy.
Services trade between the two countries exceeded C$14 billion in 2025 — significant for Indian IT and Canadian financial services.

Connection to this news: The Forum and CEPA negotiations will likely prioritise sectors where each side has comparative advantage — Indian IT and pharmaceuticals accessing Canada, Canadian critical minerals and agri-commodities accessing India.

Key Facts & Data

India-Canada CEPA: Terms of Reference signed March 2, 2026; aim to conclude by end of 2026.
Bilateral merchandise trade FY 2024-25: USD 8.66 billion (India exports USD 4.22 bn; imports USD 4.44 bn).
Services trade (2025): exceeded C$14 billion.
Trade target: USD 50 billion by 2030.
Projected CEPA impact: USD 4.4–6.5 billion boost in bilateral trade; GDP gain of USD 3.8–5.9 billion for Canada by 2035.
Two rounds of CEPA negotiations completed as of May 2026; third round upcoming in Ottawa.
Team Canada Trade Mission to India: planned for later in 2026.
Indian diaspora in Canada: approximately 1.8 million people of Indian origin (one of the largest diasporas globally).
India's existing CEPAs: UAE (2022), Oman (2025-26), Japan (2011), South Korea (2010).