India, Canada reaffirm aim for $50 bn trade, CEPA fast track

New Delhi: India and Canada have reaffirmed their commitment to expand bilateral trade to $50 billion by 2030 and fast-track negotiations for the proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), as commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal held a series of high-level meetings with Canadian ministers, investors and business leaders in Toronto.

The renewed push marks a broader economic reset between the two countries, with both sides looking to convert improving diplomatic ties into deeper trade, investment and technology partnerships across strategic sectors, a commerce ministry statement said.

In a fireside conversation with Canada’s international trade minister Maninder Sidhu at the Canada-India Building Bridges event, Goyal highlighted growing complementarities between the Indian and Canadian economies and stressed the need for a more predictable and robust business ecosystem, backed by stronger government-industry collaboration.

Welcoming India's largest-ever business delegation to Canada, Sidhu said his country's trade mission will also visit India in November to explore opportunities in sectors, including artificial intelligence, critical minerals, semiconductors, renewable energy, nuclear energy, clean technology, digital infrastructure and advanced manufacturing.

The two ministers reiterated their shared objective of concluding the CEPA negotiations at the earliest, while scaling bilateral trade to $50 billion by 2030, the statement said. Bilateral trade between India and Canada is currently at around $8.5 billion.

Negotiations for CEPA have gathered pace since the terms of reference were signed in March 2025.

India and Canada are intensifying negotiations on their proposed trade pact, which is expected to significantly expand cooperation in goods, services, investments and technology, while strengthening supply-chain integration between the two economies.

Earlier on Tuesday, Goyal delivered the keynote address at the Canada–India Building Bridges event hosted by Global Affairs Canada along with India's industry bodies CII and Assocham at the World Trade Centre in Toronto. The event saw participation from over 150 representatives from sectors including advanced manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, clean technology, energy and oil and gas.

Goyal later co-chaired the Canada–India Investment Roundtable with Sidhu, where leading Canadian pension funds, banks and institutional investors discussed opportunities arising from India’s infrastructure push, financial reforms and improving ease of doing business.

The minister also held one-on-one meetings with major Canadian companies and investors from sectors including insurance, food processing, banking and critical minerals processing. Discussions covered India’s macroeconomic outlook, expanding opportunities under production linked incentive (PLI) schemes, growth of global capability centres (GCCs), trade agreements and India’s improving regulatory framework.

Over 100 Indian companies' representatives are part of India's delegation to Canada for a three-day visit, which aims to revive and deepen ties after a period of diplomatic strain.