Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Monday to formalize a diplomatic reset that officials say will yield a landmark uranium supply agreement and set the stage for a comprehensive free trade deal.
The centerpiece of the visit is an expected uranium export contract worth approximately US$2.8 billion over 10 years, with Canadian mining company Cameco Corp. supplying fuel to India’s expanding network of nuclear power stations. India’s High Commissioner to Canada, Dinesh Patnaik, confirmed ahead of the visit that he anticipated the uranium deal would be announced during Carney’s trip.
The two leaders were expected to sign a series of memorandums of understanding covering nuclear energy, oil and gas, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and aerospace — a sprawling agenda that India’s top diplomat described as “immense.”
Carney frames trade as strategic autonomy
Speaking at the Canada-India Growth and Investment Forum in Mumbai on Saturday, Carney called the two nations “natural partners” and declared that the visit marked the end of a “challenging period” in the bilateral relationship.
“We are actively taking on the world as it is, not passively waiting for a world we wish to be,” Carney told a gathering of roughly 100 business leaders and investors.
He also announced that Canada aims to finalize a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with India before the end of 2026 — a target that, if met, would cap 16 years of on-and-off negotiations. Two-way trade between the countries reached $30.8 billion in 2024; Canada’s government has set a goal of more than doubling that figure to $70 billion by 2030.
From diplomatic freeze to full reset
Relations between the two countries cratered in 2023 when then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused Indian government agents of killing Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian Sikh activist, on Canadian soil — an allegation New Delhi denied. The fallout triggered a mutual expulsion of diplomats and a two-year diplomatic freeze.
Carney began repairing the relationship shortly after taking office, inviting Modi to the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alberta last June, where the two leaders reappointed high commissioners and agreed to launch formal trade talks. The New Delhi meeting on Monday is the most significant milestone in that reset.
Carney held preliminary talks with Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in New Delhi on Sunday ahead of the bilateral summit.
Energy at the core
India’s energy needs give Canada significant leverage. The world’s most populous nation runs an ambitious program to expand nuclear power capacity. It has signaled it wants to diversify its energy imports away from Russia — a shift that positions Canadian uranium and liquefied natural gas as attractive alternatives.
Cameco, headquartered in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, is one of the world’s largest uranium producers and stands to be the primary supplier under any finalized nuclear agreement.
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt joined the India trip, a signal that provincial energy and resource interests factor directly into any deals that emerge.
Universities, AI, and what comes next
On Saturday, Universities Canada, the national association for higher education, facilitated partnership agreements between its member institutions and 13 Indian universities, covering research collaboration, student and faculty exchanges, and joint AI centers.
Carney departs India later this week and continues to Australia and Japan as part of a broader Indo-Pacific trade push that runs through March 7, 2026.
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