Sitharaman pitches deeper India-Canada financial partnership in Toronto

The finance minister said the partnership could expand across infrastructure, fintech, clean energy, digital finance and capital markets, backed by Canadian institutional capital

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said India and Canada have an opportunity to build a “deeper and more diversified financial partnership”, with India bringing scale, opportunity and a strong growth trajectory, and Canada contributing long-term capital, institutional expertise and regulatory depth.

 

Addressing a reception with the Indian diaspora and business community in Toronto, Sitharaman said the potential for the partnership extended beyond trade and investment to infrastructure, financial services, fintech, clean energy, innovation and the broader digital economy.

 

“The complementarities are clear. India brings scale, opportunity and a strong growth trajectory. Canada brings long-term capital, institutional expertise and regulatory depth,” she said.

 

 

Sitharaman highlighted the substantial and long-term presence of Canadian pension funds in India, with investments across infrastructure, logistics, renewable energy and financial services. Canadian financial institutions are also deepening their presence in India, including in corporate and commercial banking, she said.

 

“This is a partnership that is increasingly moving from capital flows to deeper institutional engagement,” she said.

 

Sitharaman also highlighted India’s financial infrastructure, particularly the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), saying there were “significant opportunities” for collaboration with Canadian banks, fintech companies and regulators, not only in payments but also in shaping the next generation of digital financial infrastructure.

 

She also pointed to GIFT City, India’s International Financial Services Centre, as a new gateway for international capital.

 

“GIFT City, India’s International Financial Services Center, is emerging as a global platform for international financial institutions, supported by a regulatory and tax framework designed specifically for cross-border financial activity,” she said.

 

Sitharaman said India had progressively opened sectors such as insurance, asset management and pensions to greater foreign participation, while its capital markets had become deeper, more liquid and more sophisticated.

 

“For Canadian institutional investors, this creates opportunities not only to participate in India’s growth, but also to use India as a platform for wider regional and global financial activity,” she said.

 

Sitharaman described the Indian diaspora as one of the strongest foundations of the India-Canada economic partnership, saying the community was a “strategic bridge” between the two countries.

 

“The Indian diaspora is therefore not merely a bridge between our two countries. It is one of the strongest foundations of our economic partnership,” she said.

 

She highlighted the presence of Indian-origin portfolio managers, entrepreneurs, risk professionals, bankers and financial experts across Canada’s financial sector.

 

“This unique human capital is perhaps the greatest strategic advantage that India and Canada share,” Sitharaman said.

 

She said India-Canada bilateral relations had seen a “remarkable transformation in recent times”, underpinned by shared values, expanding economic engagement, high-level interactions and strong people-to-people ties.

 

Referring to the June 2025 meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on the sidelines of the G7 summit, Sitharaman said the two leaders had agreed to reset India-Canada ties by reaffirming a future-focused strategic partnership.

 

She also referred to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to India earlier this year, which, she said, formally launched Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) negotiations, a Canadian $2.6 billion uranium agreement with Cameco, the adoption of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam as the overarching framework of the renewed strategic partnership, and a joint declaration of ambition to more than double two-way trade to Canadian $70 billion by 2030.

 

Sitharaman said India and Canada were “the most natural partners in the world”, citing their shared democratic values, parliamentary traditions, commitment to UN-based multilateralism and appreciation of diversity.

 

“Above all, Canada and India are the two great multicultural societies in today’s world that truly value and cherish diversity, and that is a bond that goes deeper than any trade agreement,” she said.

 

She said India’s real gross domestic product (GDP) growth stood at 7.6 per cent in 2025-26 and highlighted the country’s scale, young population, expanding consumption and deepening capital markets as opportunities for Canadian investors with a long-term horizon.

 

“This is just only the beginning of my visit to Toronto,” Sitharaman said, adding that she looked forward to further conversations, meetings and interactions that would strengthen understanding between the two economies and institutions.

 

“I am confident that by working together we can take this relationship to a newer level, which is deeper, broader and more ambitious than ever before,” she said.