Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is scheduled to undertake a prominent visit to India from February 26, 2026, marking his first visit to the country as PM and a significant move towards mending strained bilateral relations. The three-day visit will begin in Mumbai, where Carney will interact with business leaders to discuss potential investment opportunities, followed by a visit to New Delhi for crucial meetings with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on or around March 2.
The visit will concentrate on improving trade, energy, technology (including AI), critical minerals, defense, and security cooperation. The Canadian government is also hoping to increase bilateral trade from the current CAN$28 billion to over CAN$70 billion by 2030, as part of a strategy to reduce overreliance on the U.S. market in the face of possible tariffs. The visit will also help to advance negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and may involve discussions on uranium sales agreements.
The visit follows strained diplomatic relations since 2023-2024 due to allegations of Indian involvement in the murder of a Sikh separatist leader in Canada. However, recent gestures of goodwill, such as Canada’s efforts to strip a suspect of citizenship in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, indicate a possible warming of relations. Carney’s tour of the Asia-Pacific region also includes Australia and Japan until March 7, with a focus on Indo-Pacific partnerships.
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