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Carney says it’s in Canada’s interest to grow trade ties with India, other nations
Mark Carney assumed charge as Prime Minister in March this year, and signalled a gradual reset in relations with India
Toronto: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has said that it is in his country’s interest to take steps such as launching negotiations towards a free trade agreement with India and such initiatives have the respect of United States President Donald Trump.
In a year-end interview with state broadcaster CBC, Carney said, “He (Trump) respects that the UAE wants to invest or intends to invest CA$70 billion (US$51 billion) in Canada, he respects that we have launched trade negotiations with India, that we are having a rapprochement with China, that we are deepening our security relationship with Europe…”
In that context, he added, “All of those steps are in Canada’s interest.”
“We have too many eggs in the American basket. We would like to maintain that relationship and grow others. We absolutely need to grow others,” he said, while mentioning India, China, the European Union, the United Kingdom, and others in that relation.
Carney assumed charge as Prime Minister in March this year, and signalled a gradual reset in relations with India. His breakthrough meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the margins of the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Kananaskis in June. That agenda crystallised into renewal of bilateral ties when they met again on the margins of the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg last month, following which came the announcement that India and Canada will launch negotiations towards a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) in the near future.
Carney accepted Modi’s invitation to visit India and that trip is expected to occur in the first quarter of next year.
A readout of the meeting issued by the Canadian Prime Minister’s Office at the time said, “The leaders expressed confidence that the CEPA will serve as a powerful economic anchor and help more than double two-way trade to CA$70 billion by 2030.”
India and Canada worked on a CEPA earlier but that was dropped in favour of the Early Progress Trade Agreement (EPTA) in 2022, so they could capture low-hanging fruit. After several rounds of negotiations, Canada “paused” talks in August 2023, just weeks before then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated in the House of Commons on September 18 that year that there were “credible allegations” of a potential link between Indian agents and the killing of pro-Khalistan figure Hardeep Singh Nijjar three months earlier in Surrey, British Columbia. India described those accusations as “absurd” and relations cratered.
