Modi December Canada Visit Signals India Trade Reset

NEW YORK — Prime Minister Mark Carney confirmed the Modi December Canada visit on Tuesday in New York, describing it as another sign that Ottawa and New Delhi are moving past a strained few years and pushing toward a trade deal both countries want signed by the end of 2026.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly's high-level week, Carney said: "We're making good progress in our trade negotiations with India. It is an exceptionally important relationship, on many, many levels. People-to-people levels, security levels and also trade and economic."

"He will be visiting Canada around that time," Carney said of Modi. "I very much look forward to hosting him."

Trade talks picking up speed

The visit lands as negotiations over a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, or CEPA, pick up pace. On September 21, India's commerce minister Piyush Goyal said the two countries had finished a fourth round of talks in Mumbai and agreed to fast-track the process, with a fifth round scheduled for October 5. Goyal described the next 90 days as an important window for the relationship.

Goyal met Canada's international trade minister Maninder Sidhu in Mumbai last week. After the meeting, Sidhu said both sides were working to conclude an agreement as soon as possible, and noted that Canada-India two-way trade reached $30.8 billion in 2024, with a shared goal of doubling it to $70 billion by 2030. Sidhu also said he planned to lead a Team Canada trade mission to India next month to deepen commercial ties and open new opportunities for Canadian businesses, according to a Canadian government statement.

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said this week she planned to meet India's external affairs minister S. Jaishankar during UN high-level week. In a post on X, Anand wrote that the bilateral relationship was growing and that concluding the CEPA before the end of the year was key to Canada's overall strategy. The two leaders had agreed at last year's G20 summit to try to wrap up negotiations before this year's G20 in December.

The announcement was reported by IANS, citing Carney's press briefing in New York, and also covered by The Indian EYE.

A thaw after a rough stretch

The Modi December Canada visit would mark another step in repairing a relationship that frayed after former prime minister Justin Trudeau accused Indian agents of involvement in the killing of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia, a charge New Delhi rejected. Diplomatic ties froze through much of that period, with trade talks stalled and both countries expelling diplomats.

The ice started to break in June 2025, when Modi attended the G7 summit in Kananaskis at Carney's invitation. The two governments reopened trade negotiations later that year on the sidelines of the G20, and the talks have steadily accelerated since.

For Ottawa, the timing matters. Canada has spent 2026 trying to reduce its economic dependence on the United States amid a tariff fight with Washington that has disrupted trade. The same pressure sent Canada's dollar to an eight-week low this week. A deal with India, one of the world's fastest-growing economies, would give Carney a concrete win in that diversification push.

New Delhi has its own reasons to move quickly. Washington's tariff pressure has pushed Indian exporters to look for friendlier markets, and a Canadian agreement would open access to Canadian energy, critical minerals and agricultural goods in return.

The precise date of the December visit has not been finalized, but according to Carney, India has confirmed that Modi will be in Canada around that time. Goyal said after the Mumbai meeting that both sides were focused on unlocking new opportunities across trade in goods, services and investment, and described the next 90 days as an important period for the relationship.

If the CEPA lands by year-end as planned, the trip could double as a signing ceremony. Negotiators return to the table for a fifth round on October 5, leaving roughly ten weeks to close the remaining gaps.