Canada announces trade mission to India as Piyush Goyal holds talks with investors, businesses in Toronto
Toronto, May 27
Canada's Minister of International Trade Maninder Sidhu has announced a Team Canada Trade Mission to India later this year, as Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal held a series of meetings with Canadian business leaders, institutional investors and industry representatives in Toronto aimed at strengthening bilateral investment and technology partnerships.
According to the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, the proposed trade mission, scheduled for November, aims to bring Canadian companies to India to explore collaboration opportunities in sectors such as artificial intelligence, critical minerals, nuclear energy, renewable energy, semiconductors, clean technology, digital infrastructure and advanced manufacturing.
The announcement was made during a fireside chat between Goyal and Sidhu at the Canada-India Building Bridges event hosted by Global Affairs Canada, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), and ASSOCHAM at the World Trade Centre Toronto.
According to the ministry, Goyal highlighted the "growing complementarities between India and Canada" and stressed the need for a "more robust and predictable business ecosystem driven by stronger government-industry collaboration."
Sidhu appreciated the participation of the "largest-ever Indian business delegation to Canada," comprising representatives from more than 100 Indian companies.
The event saw participation from over 150 representatives from businesses, investor groups and industry associations across sectors including advanced manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, clean technology, energy, and oil and gas.
Goyal also co-chaired the Canada-India Investment Roundtable with Sidhu, where discussions focused on India's infrastructure development, financial sector reforms and ease of doing business initiatives.
The Union Minister invited Canadian investors to partner with India in sectors including clean energy, technology, digital infrastructure, artificial intelligence, manufacturing and supply chain diversification.
According to the ministry, discussions also explored cooperation in financial markets to support "sustainable growth and shared prosperity for both countries."
During the visit, Goyal held one-on-one meetings with leading Canadian companies and financial investors from sectors such as insurance, food processing, banking and critical minerals processing.
The discussions covered India's macroeconomic outlook, the Government's focus on trade agreements, opportunities in high-growth sectors, the availability of STEM talent, the rise of Global Capability Centres (GCCs), Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes and India's improving regulatory environment.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Interesting to see Canada's interest after the diplomatic hiccups last year. I think both sides want to move forward practically. I just hope our PLI schemes and GCC initiatives are enough to attract Canadian capital for manufacturing. The devil is in the detail!
As a Canadian businessman, this is promising news. India's STEM talent pool and improving ease of doing business are attractive. But we need consistency in policy—the regulatory flip-flops scare off many institutional investors. Let's hope the November mission yields concrete MoUs.
Good to see Goyal ji talking trade. But abhi tak India ka GST ka burden aur complex tax structure small businesses ko rok raha hai. Agree karta hoon trade mission ke saath, magar ground-level reforms bhi chahiye. Aur haan, critical minerals ka partnership toh strategic hai! 💎
I'm excited about the nuclear energy collaboration part. 🌟 But I hope our government also focuses on the intellectual property rights protection for our pharma and biotech firms when dealing with Canada. Fair trade matters, not just big numbers.
As an observer of India-Canada relations, this is a significant shift away from the frostiness. India's infrastructure push and digital economy are perfect for Canadian expertise in clean tech. Just hope the 'largest-ever delegation' translates into real deals, not just photo ops.
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