New Delhi, Oct 16 — After a prolonged period of estranged diplomatic ties, India and Canada have turned around their bilateral relationship to focus on economic complementarities and shared strategic interests, according to a new report.
The visits of Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand and International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu, preceded by security consultations between David Morrison and National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval, signal a determined effort to rebuild confidence. The objective should not be to recreate the relationship that existed before the rupture, but to build a more resilient partnership.
This requires stronger economic foundations, credible security cooperation and institutional safeguards against another diplomatic crisis of the kind witnessed in 2024, according to an article in India Narrative.
India offers Canada a large and expanding market, industrial capacity and a growing technology ecosystem. It also provides Ottawa an opportunity to diversify its trade and investment relationships and reduce its concentration on the United States.
Canada, in turn, brings strengths in energy, critical minerals, agriculture, aerospace, advanced technologies, education and institutional investment. Both countries have compelling reasons to diversify supply chains and strengthen economic resilience, states the article by India’s former high commissioner to Canada, Sanjay Kumar Verma.
The political foundation for the current phase was laid during Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to India from February 27 to March 2, 2026, following renewed engagement between Carney and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G7 summit in 2025. The leaders supported the reconstitution of the India-Canada CEO Forum, a Finance Ministers’ Economic and Financial Dialogue, stronger security cooperation and regular trade and investment engagement. These mechanisms are intended to sustain cooperation even when political disagreements arise.
In their telephone conversation on October 13, Modi and Carney reaffirmed their commitment to concluding CEPA at the earliest opportunity. Modi’s anticipated visit to Canada in December could provide another opportunity to demonstrate that the reset is producing tangible results. The political framework is in place; implementation will determine its credibility.
The article highlights that the experience of 2024 points to the need for a structured early-warning mechanism. Designated senior officials should be able to communicate emerging concerns promptly, assess their implications, and refer unresolved issues to the national security advisers or foreign ministers.
Regular reviews and agreed procedures for information sharing would help prevent misunderstandings from escalating into wider diplomatic crises. Such a mechanism would not eliminate disagreements, but it could prevent them from repeatedly derailing the partnership.
For India, the activities of pro-Khalistan extremist organisations operating from Canadian territory have long been a source of concern. The legitimate concern is whether Canadian territory is being used to facilitate intimidation, violence or other unlawful activities directed against India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The author observes that for some time, Khalistani extremists are not merely a threat to India; they also threaten Canada’s own security and way of life. This is not simply an Indian assessment. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), in its '2025 Public Report', identified the continuing involvement of Canada-based Khalistani extremists in violent extremist activities as a national security threat to Canada and Canadian interests.