Canada eyes $70 bn trade with India

Milwaukee, Oct 1 (SocialNews.XYZ) Canada and India have set a goal of taking bilateral trade from about $30 billion to nearly $70 billion within five years, Canadian International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu said Thursday, as the two countries push ahead with negotiations on a comprehensive trade agreement.

Sidhu said the fifth round of negotiations would begin in Ottawa on Monday and voiced confidence that the two sides could reach a conclusion in the coming months.

“The vision that the leaders have set out for us is, you know, to go from 30 billion dollars of trade to close to 70 billion dollars of trade within the next five years,” Sidhu told reporters on the sidelines of the G20 Trade Ministers’ Meeting in Milwaukee.

“How do we get there? Part of that is through more facilitation of free trade,” he said. “And so right now the negotiations are ongoing to see what we can do together to help build our economies.”

Sidhu said Canada viewed the two economies as complementary rather than competitors.

“It’s about building up our economies in complementary styles. It’s not about competing with one another,” he said.

The minister said energy, critical minerals and aerospace were among the sectors offering opportunities for deeper cooperation.

Sidhu, who visited India about 10 days ago and met Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal in Mumbai, said four rounds of negotiations had been discussed there.

“Round five will happen in Ottawa on Monday,” he said. “Of course, negotiations are always tough, but we look forward to concluding in the coming months.”

Sidhu said Prime Minister Mark Carney and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had held “excellent conversations” on bringing the two economies closer.

He pointed to India’s growing energy requirements as a major opportunity for Canada.

“India is growing at 7per cent year over year. India requires 70% more energy by 2035. We have that energy in Canada,” Sidhu said.

Canada, he said, has several LNG projects in various stages of development and expects to become one of the world’s top five LNG exporters within five years.

“But beyond energy, it’s about critical minerals with India; it’s about aerospace,” Sidhu said. “So as India builds, Canada wants to be there to help build India as well.”

Critical minerals could become another important pillar of the economic relationship, particularly as India expands its automobile, electric vehicle and battery industries.

“India is looking to diversify some of the supply chains if you look at critical minerals,” Sidhu said. “India has a growing auto sector, and for EVs and batteries, Canada is the only country in the Western hemisphere that has every single element to make an electric battery.”

Sidhu also highlighted investment as an important part of the relationship. He said Canada was the largest collective investor in India, with more than USD 100 billion in investments.

“Many of the infrastructure projects, there’s Canadian companies involved building the airports, building the highways there,” he said.

At the same time, Canada wants more Indian investment in its mining and energy sectors.

“We also welcome Indian investors in Canada to invest in our mining projects, to invest in our energy projects, so we can grow together,” Sidhu said. “And so part of that is, yes, it’s trade, but it’s investments and beyond that in terms of research and collaboration as well.”

Canada and India launched negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement after Carney and Modi agreed in November 2025 to restart talks. Four rounds have since been completed, with both governments working towards concluding negotiations by the end of 2026.

Two-way goods and services trade stood at $30.4 billion in 2025, according to the Canadian government. The two countries have set a goal of raising annual bilateral trade to $70 billion by 2030.

Source: IANS