Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal on Saturday said he is leading a delegation of 150 Indian business leaders to Canada, with engagements scheduled in Ottawa on May 25 and a two-day programme in Toronto from May 26 to 27.
“The visit carries forward the mandate given by the Prime Ministers of India and Canada during PM Mark Carney’s visit to India in March 2026, and seeks to impart renewed momentum to bilateral engagement across trade, investment, energy, technology, and people-to-people ties,” a release said.
A central focus of the visit is the advancement of India-Canada Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) negotiations. The Terms of Reference were signed during PM Carney’s visit to India in March 2026.
The first round of negotiations was conducted virtually in March and the second round concluded on May 8, 2026. During this visit, a further round of negotiations will be conducted in Ottawa from May 25 to 29.
Both sides are working towards an early conclusion of a balanced and mutually beneficial CEPA by end of 2026, with a shared ambition to expand bilateral trade to CAD 70 billion (approximately Rs 4.65 lakh crore) by 2030.
As of now, the bilateral trade stands at USD 8.5 billion in FY25, with significant potential for expansion across sectors.
Furthermore, the delegation will engage with Canadian counterparts across priority sectors, including Technology and Artificial Intelligence; Clean Energy and Critical Minerals; Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology; Aerospace and Defence; and Food Processing and Agri-tech areas where India and Canada possess highly complementary strengths and where the opportunity for joint investment, R&D, and supply chain partnerships is most significant.
Earlier, on March 3,India and Canada launched negotiations for CEPA. Goyal and Canada’s Minister of International Trade Maninder Sidhu had signed the terms of reference (ToR) for the agreement in the presence of PM Narendra Modi and his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney.
Pm Modi had said the aim was to expand the bilateral trade to USD 50 billion (CAD 70 billion) by 2030. The priority is to unlock the full potential of economic cooperation, for which India and Canada have decided to finalise the CEPA soon.
