Canada Sends Biggest Trade Mission to India in 30 Years

MUMBAI, India. Canada's International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu landed in India on Monday with nearly 300 Canadian business delegates in tow, opening Ottawa's largest trade mission to India in more than 30 years as both countries race to finish a free trade agreement by the end of the year.

The Team Canada Trade Mission runs October 12 to 17, with stops in Mumbai and Bengaluru. The delegates, drawn from aerospace and space, clean technologies, information and communication technology, life sciences, agri-food and forestry, will meet Indian decision-makers and potential clients in a week of business-to-business meetings, site visits and briefings by Canadian trade commissioners.

"Nearly 300 Canadian business delegates are joining the Team Canada Trade Mission I am leading to India next week to secure new opportunities for our businesses and workers in one of the world's fastest-growing markets," Sidhu said in a statement released by Global Affairs Canada. "By matching Canadian expertise in sectors like aerospace, agri-food and clean technology with India's growing demand, we will diversify our trade and attract new investment. This is how we will more than double our trade with India to $70 billion by 2030."

Why it matters

The number is the story. Two-way trade in goods and services between Canada and India reached $30.4 billion in 2025. Ottawa wants that number above $70 billion a year by 2030. That means more than doubling trade in four years, a goal that would reshape both countries' commercial maps.

For ordinary Canadians, the push could mean new jobs in export industries and new markets for products that have traditionally gone south of the border. For Indian buyers, it means better access to Canadian energy, critical minerals, agricultural goods and technology, and for Indian exporters, a wider doorway into the North American market through a partner that wants to buy.

The mission also lands at a sensitive political moment. The Canada-India relationship only recently emerged from a prolonged diplomatic chill, and both governments are treating this trade push as proof that the reset is real.

The deal on the table

The mission follows the fifth round of negotiations on the Canada-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, or CEPA, held in Ottawa from October 5 to 9. Neither government has released the outcome of that round. Four earlier rounds have already been completed, with the previous one concluding in New Delhi on September 18.

Both governments say they want the deal done by year-end. Sidhu met India's Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on the sidelines of the G20 Trade Ministers' meeting in Milwaukee on October 1 to review progress, and he is expected to meet Goyal again during this visit. More negotiation rounds are expected in November. People familiar with the talks say political direction may be needed to close the remaining gaps.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit Canada in December, and both sides want a signed agreement waiting for him. India's High Commissioner to Canada, Dinesh Patnaik, said New Delhi had presented what he called an excellent offer and expressed confidence a deal would be reached soon. "We are confident we will have a deal soon," he said.

The economic numbers show why both sides are serious. Two-way merchandise trade stood at $13.6 billion in 2025. Canadian merchandise exports to India totalled $3.9 billion, led by vegetables, mineral fuels and oils, and wood pulp. Merchandise imports from India reached $9.7 billion, with precious stones and metals, machinery and pharmaceutical products among the main categories. Canadian services exports to India stood at $15.2 billion, with education-related travel the largest share.

The context

The deeper motive is not hard to see. Canada is trying to reduce its heavy dependence on the United States, and Ottawa has set a target of doubling exports to markets outside the US over the next decade. The push comes amid trade friction with the Trump administration, which has made diversification from "nice to have" to urgent policy.

India, for its part, is negotiating trade arrangements with several partners at once, and Canada fits its search for reliable suppliers of energy, critical minerals and other commodities. Sidhu has presented Canada as a long-term supplier for India's expanding requirements, and Indian officials have said New Delhi has made its best possible offer and is awaiting a reciprocal response from Ottawa.

The 300 delegates now moving through Mumbai and Bengaluru are the commercial expression of that strategy: less a trade show than a bet that the next decade of Canadian growth runs through markets like India rather than through Washington.

What happens next

The mission wraps up October 17. The real test comes in November, when negotiators are expected to sit down for one or two more rounds to resolve outstanding issues. If the talks stay on track, the year-end deadline holds. If they stall, the political will has to come from the top, from Sidhu and Goyal, or from Prime Minister Mark Carney and Modi themselves when they meet in December. Either way, the delegation going home on the 17th will have turned a negotiating round into face-to-face deals. The agreement, if it comes, will have a human network already waiting for it.