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OTTAWA — Canada and India are stepping up work on a broad economic partnership as Ottawa’s foreign minister prepares for another trip to New Delhi, part of a wider effort to rebuild a relationship that both governments now describe in terms of trade, security and energy.
According to reports, the visit is expected in mid-October, with talks planned on a comprehensive economic partnership agreement that officials hope to conclude by the end of the year. A visit to Canada by India’s prime minister is also being prepared for December, according to the same reports, which would make the autumn meetings an important staging post.
The diplomatic track was already visible in late September, when the two foreign ministers met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. A read-out of that meeting said the ministers welcomed progress on a bilateral roadmap covering trade, security, defence, energy, mobility and innovation, and discussed long-term energy cooperation, including renewable energy, critical minerals and civil nuclear energy.
For Canada, the push fits a broader diversification strategy as trade friction with the United States reshapes planning for exporters. India is one of the world’s fastest-growing large economies, and officials in Ottawa have repeatedly identified the Indo-Pacific as central to spreading Canada’s commercial risk beyond a single market.
People-to-people ties give the file unusual weight at home. Canada’s large Indian diaspora means decisions on visas, student mobility and consular capacity are watched closely in communities across the country, alongside the business agenda.
None of the hardest questions has disappeared. Public safety concerns featured in Canadian statements after earlier diplomatic strains, and negotiators still have to translate roadmap language into market access that farmers, technology firms and energy producers can use. But the cadence of meetings — a fifth round of trade negotiations in Canada in early October, followed by ministerial travel — suggests both capitals want a deal-shaped result before the December visit.
Whether that timetable holds will depend on the detail. For now, officials are presenting the talks as steady, practical and pointed toward a partnership meant to outlast any single dispute.
