Canada Launches Its Biggest Trade Mission to India in Three Decades

On Monday, Canadian International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu, who was born in India, stepped onto a flight bound for Mumbai with almost 300 business delegates in tow. It isn’t just another trade tour – Ottawa says this is the largest Canadian trade mission to India in over 30 years.

The six‑day “Team Canada” mission, running from October 12 to 17, will see the group hop over to Bengaluru as well, meeting Indian decision‑makers, industry leaders and potential clients. The goal, according to Global Affairs Canada, is simple and ambitious: to spark new partnerships that create well‑paying jobs back home while diversifying Canada’s export basket.

“We’re matching Canadian know‑how in aerospace, agri‑food and clean technology with India’s soaring demand,” Sidhu said in a briefing. “If we pull this off, we could more than double our trade with India to roughly $70 billion by 2030.”

The delegation’s composition reads like a cross‑section of Canada’s high‑tech and resource‑rich economy. Companies from aerospace and space, clean‑tech and energy transition, ICT, life sciences and agri‑food are all on board. Even forestry and wood products have been singled out as priority sectors, with the Trade Commissioner Service lining up B2B meetings, site visits and briefings.

All of this comes on the heels of the fifth round of talks on the Canada‑India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which concluded in Ottawa earlier this month. While neither side has released a final statement, both governments appear keen to keep the momentum going.

Sidhu’s agenda also includes a sit‑down with India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, a conversation that first took place on the sidelines of the G20 Trade Ministers’ meeting in Milwaukee on October 1. The two leaders reviewed progress and underscored the importance of moving the CEPA talks forward.

India, for its part, is juggling negotiations with several partners – the United States, the European Union and others – while dealing with a fraught relationship with Washington over tariffs and its continued purchase of Russian oil. Canada, meanwhile, is looking to broaden its trade horizons after years of heavy reliance on the U.S. market.

Statistically, the two economies are already intertwined. In 2025, two‑way goods and services trade hit C$30.4 billion. Canadian exports to India amounted to C$3.9 billion, led by vegetables, mineral fuels, oils and wood pulp, while imports from India were worth C$9.7 billion, dominated by precious stones, machinery and pharmaceuticals. Direct Canadian investment in India stood at C$11.4 billion, and Indian investment in Canada was close behind at C$9.7 billion. Canadian pension funds and asset managers collectively had about C$108 billion of exposure to Indian assets.

Team Canada missions, organized by Global Affairs Canada’s Trade Commissioner Service, are designed to help especially small‑ and medium‑sized enterprises break into foreign markets. By coupling government support with on‑the‑ground networking, Ottawa hopes the October delegation will lay the groundwork for a deeper, more diversified trade relationship.

The CEPA talks were revived after a diplomatic reset between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who both signaled a desire to move past the souring ties of 2023. If all goes well, the deal could be inked before the calendar flips to 2027, marking a new chapter for Canada‑India commerce.