India and Canada will commence the fifth round of negotiations for their proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in Ottawa on Monday, as both sides aim to finalize the trade deal by the end of 2026.
Led by the chief negotiators of both nations, this five-day round will continue until October 9. The previous round concluded in New Delhi on September 18, and officials are now pushing for rapid progress towards the final agreement.
The trade negotiations have gained further momentum as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit Canada around December, a time when both countries plan to finalize the agreement. Meanwhile, Canadian Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu plans to visit New Delhi later this month with a 300-member business delegation.
During their meeting in New Delhi in March this year, Prime Minister Modi and his Canadian counterpart had set a year-end target to conclude negotiations on the CEPA between the two nations and agreed to deepen bilateral cooperation in the energy and critical minerals sectors.
According to the joint statement issued after their summit, the leaders expressed confidence that a comprehensive trade framework would serve as a strong economic foundation for the partnership and support the shared ambition of increasing bilateral trade to 70 billion Canadian dollars (Rs 4.65 lakh crore) by 2030. In 2024-25, bilateral trade in goods between India and Canada stood at $8.66 billion, while India’s exports to the country reached $4.22 billion.
Key items exported from India to Canada include pharmaceutical products, machinery parts and mechanical equipment, iron and steel goods, electronic items, organic chemicals, jewelry, gems and precious stones, clothing and textiles, seafood, engineering goods, and auto parts. India’s IT sector is a major contributor to service exports to Canada.
Prime Minister Carney’s visit to India paved the way for a significant improvement in diplomatic relations between the two countries; these relations had previously hit a low point during the tenure of his predecessor, Justin Trudeau. The Trudeau government faced accusations that, as part of its electoral politics, it was encouraging Sikh hardliners in Canada to advance an anti-India agenda.
