Canada and India tried to turn the page on a “challenging period” in the bilateral relationship this week, as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney visited Mumbai and met his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, in New Delhi, the first trip to India by a Canadian prime minister in eight years.
The Monday meeting between Carney and Modi was the climax: the two leaders committed to finalizing a trade deal this year, welcomed 13 new partnerships between Canadian and Indian universities, launched a Defence Dialogue, and agreed to start negotiations for a General Security of Information Agreement.
Carney and Modi also signed several MOUs and released a 61-point joint statement touching on energy, the environment, co-operation in space, AI, and more. They welcomed C$5.5 billion in commercial agreements, including a C$2.6-billion uranium deal between the Indian government and Saskatoon-headquartered Cameco.
The new “strategic partnership” and the dizzying number of deals — the result of ministerial trips and talks and a mutual desire to reduce reliance on the U.S. — would have been unthinkable even a year ago. But during a speech in Mumbai, Carney said that his visit “marks the end of a challenging period and [...] the beginning of a new, more ambitious partnership between two confident and complementary nations.”
Modi stated that “from our very first meeting, there has been a new energy, mutual trust, and positivity in our relations.” Carney and Modi previously met in South Africa in November 2025 and in Alberta in June 2025. This week, Carney invited Modi to visit Canada.
Survey says...
A new poll — conducted by the Angus Reid Institute in partnership with APF Canada and published on Sunday — suggests Canadians are largely on board with Carney’s trip: 60 per cent say it was the “right time” or even overdue.
But Canadians remain cool on the country, with 57 per cent of survey respondents holding a “mostly” or “very” unfavourable view of India. Much of this hesitancy can be attributed to concerns over foreign interference and transnational repression.
Canada’s Foreign Interference Commission concluded in January 2025 that “India is the second most active country engaging in electoral foreign interference in Canada.” India’s high commissioner to Canada recently said foreign interference “never happened.”
Canberra calling
Carney arrived in Sydney, Australia, on Tuesday, the second leg of his three-country tour. It’s the first time a Canadian prime minister has travelled to Australia in 12 years.
After meeting with business leaders in Sydney and delivering remarks at a think-tank, Carney addressed Australia’s parliament in Canberra. Although bilateral trade remains low, investment is a bright spot in the relationship: in 2024, two-way investment totalled C$7.35 billion, exceeding the combined two-way investment of India and China (mainland).
Long economic competitors, Ottawa and Canberra have recently started co-operating on critical minerals. Defence and security collaboration has also blossomed of late: last year, Canada agreed to purchase an Australian over-the-horizon radar system to deploy in the Arctic. Carney travels to Japan today.
