India seeks deeper Canada investment ties as CEPA talks gather pace

Piyush Goyal pitched India as a long-term investment destination during his Canada visit as both countries accelerate negotiations for the proposed CEPA trade agreement

As negotiations for the India-Canada free trade agreement gather pace, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal pitched India as a long-term investment destination during a series of industry engagements in Toronto.

 

Goyal highlighted India’s economic growth prospects, manufacturing expansion, digital transformation, and infrastructure push, while inviting Canadian businesses to deepen engagement across sectors such as financial services, critical minerals, artificial intelligence, telecom, clean energy, food processing, and advanced manufacturing.

 

"Held extensive discussions with Canada's leading pension funds, sovereign and institutional investors, members of the Canada-India Business Council and other stakeholders. Highlighted how the Indian government's focus on infrastructure, financial sector reforms & ease of doing business is creating unprecedented opportunities for global investors, and invited stakeholders to partner with India in areas such as clean energy, technology, digital infrastructure, AI, manufacturing & supply chain diversification," Goyal said in a post on X. "Also discussed ways to strengthen collaboration in financial markets to support sustainable growth and shared prosperity for both countries."

   

The Indian minister met top Canadian industry leaders, including Fairfax Financial Holdings Chairman Prem Watsa, Manulife Financial Corporation President Philip Witherington, Sun Life President Kevin Strain, and Neo Performance Materials President Rahim Suleman, among others, during the three-day Canada visit that started on Monday.

 

A business delegation of more than 100 Indian industry representatives also accompanied the minister for sector-focused roundtables and business-to-business engagements in Ottawa and Toronto.

 

The commerce minister emphasised the role of the Indian diaspora and businesses in strengthening the India-Canada economic corridor and underscored the government’s focus on creating a stable and predictable investment environment, the commerce ministry said in a press release.

 

The outreach comes amid renewed momentum in India-Canada ties following the resumption of negotiations for the proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). Following Goyal's meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Minister of International Trade Maninder Sidhu, the two sides decided to advance the timeline for concluding the trade deal to November from December.

 

Sidhu is also likely to lead a Canadian trade mission to India later this year.

 

Both countries have already completed two rounds of negotiations covering areas including goods and services trade, intellectual property rights, rules of origin, and non-tariff barriers, with the next round scheduled in Ottawa in July. The negotiators also held a concurrent round of technical negotiations this week during Goyal's visit.

 

Goyal held meetings with several other Canadian ministers to explore cooperation in areas such as renewable energy, agri-technology, food security, critical minerals, and supply chains.

 

India and Canada are targeting bilateral trade of $50 billion by 2030. They had bilateral goods trade of $7.96 billion in FY26, with India having a trade surplus of $1.39 billion. Canada is seen as a key partner for India in energy security and critical mineral sourcing, while India offers Canadian firms access to a large and fast-growing market.