India's trade minister says visit by Canada's Carney reset ties after 2023 killing of Sikh activist

OTTAWA, Ontario — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's recent visit to India has helped pave the way for a complete reset of Canada-India relations, India's trade minister said Monday. The ties were strained under Carney's predecessor in the wake of the 2023 killing of a Sikh activist in Canada.

The remarks by India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, who is visiting Canada, came as he met with Canada's International Trade Minister and just before he met with Carney.

“We’re negotiating a free trade deal with India. This will be a game changer for Canadian workers and businesses — unlocking a massive new market,” Carney said in a social media post.

“We’re working fast — I met Minister @PiyushGoyal to review our progress so far and explore the opportunities ahead for both our countries in energy, agri-food, tech, and education.”

More than 100 senior business representatives from India's mining, energy, automotive and aerospace sectors accompanied Goyal, a team New Delhi says is its largest-ever business delegation to Canada.

“This is a partnership that is being reset very, very rapidly,” Goyal said Monday.

He said Carney’s visit in late February — the first visit by a Canadian prime minister in eight years — “completely changed the way Canada and India looked at each other.”

“It has set in motion the pathway to a complete overhaul of this relationship, setting new agendas, new goals,” he said.

Canada and India have been in trade talks since 2010. Talks were shut down by Ottawa in 2023 after Canadian authorities alleged that India was involved in the killing of Canadian Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar near Vancouver in June that year.

New Delhi vehemently denied the allegations and accused former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government of harboring Sikh extremists of the Khalistan movement. The movement, which aims to create an independent Sikh homeland, is banned in India.

Ahead of his meeting with Sidhu, Goyal said both countries are keen to reach a free trade agreement this year.

In India, Carney met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the two sides signed a series of agreements — including a deal worth 2.6 billion Canadian dollars ($1.9 billion) to supply about 22 million pounds (10 million kilograms) of uranium to India for nuclear energy generation.

A Canadian delegation was in New Delhi for trade talks earlier this month and another Indian delegation is planning to return to Canada to continue discussions later this year.

Goyal also said the two countries are working to triple their trade to $50 billion USD by 2030.

In Ottawa, Goyal met with Carney and Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand. He is also to meet with CEOs of leading companies, startups and pension funds.

Vina Nadjibulla, vice president of research and strategy at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, said both countries are looking to diversify their relationships and reduce their dependence on the United States, increasingly seen as unreliable by some partners.

India recently signed trade deals with the European Union, the United Kingdom and New Zealand.

“India is now pivoting to Europe as well as to other Western economies like Australia and Canada to be able to meet its needs for capital, technology and innovation,” said Nadjibulla.