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Minister of International Trade Maninder Sidhu rises during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Friday, Oct. 9, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
By The Canadian Press

Trade minister leading 300-member mission to India this week

Oct 12, 2026 | 4:00 AM

OTTAWA — International Trade Maninder Sidhu is in India this week as the two countries look to reach a free-trade agreement by the end of the year.

Sidhu is set to make stops in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru during his visit. He is being joined by almost 300 delegates representing businesses and exporters from across Canada.

A Global Affairs Canada news release said the trade mission will include businesses from multiple sectors, including aerospace, clean technologies and energy transition, information and communication tech, life sciences and agri-food.

The Liberals have set out to double non-U.S. exports over the next decade and have boasted of signing 20 strategic trade and defence agreements around the world in the last year. They also have set a goal of doubling two-way trade with India to $70 billion annually by 2030.

In 2025, two-way goods and services trade between Canada and India amounted to $30.4 billion.

Sidhu said in a media statement that he is leading the largest Canadian trade delegation to India in more than 30 years.

“They are coming to meet new customers, secure commercial opportunities and build partnerships that create more good-paying jobs here at home,” he said. “India is building at enormous scale and Canadian companies are ready to step up.”

Sidhu said India will need more than 2,000 aircraft in the coming years and Canada’s aerospace industry can deliver.

He also said India’s electricity demand is expected to grow 70 per cent by 2035.

“Canada is advancing major energy projects like LNG Canada Phase 2 and Pacific Link, positioning us to help meet that growing demand,” he said.

“At the same time, Indian companies are choosing Canada. They have already created nearly 36,000 jobs across our country.”

Sidhu said he plans to advance trade negotiations while in India and during a meeting with India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal.

In May, Goyal said Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to his country paved the way for a complete overhaul of the Canada-India relationship.

Canada and India have been in trade talks since 2010. But those talks were shut down in 2023 after the federal government accused New Delhi of playing a role in the assassination of a Canadian Sikh activist in Surrey, B.C.

Carney, who made resetting relations with India a priority after he became prime minister in 2025, visited Mumbai and New Delhi in March. It was the first visit by a Canadian prime minister in eight years.

That trip concluded with a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the signing of a series of agreements — including a $2.6-billion deal to supply India with about 22 million pounds of uranium for energy generation and 10 commercial agreements worth more than $5.5 billion.

Modi is expected to visit Canada later this year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 12, 2026.

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press