Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel arrived in Toronto on August 23 as part of his week-long US-Canada tour, with the Canadian leg of the visit focused on strengthening economic partnerships and attracting investment to the state ahead of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2027.
Patel traveled with a senior Gujarat government delegation and met business leaders, entrepreneurs and representatives of educational and financial institutions during his stay in Canada.
The chief minister was welcomed in Toronto by the Consulate General of India and members of the Gujarati diaspora. He also interacted with members of the community at a reception organised by the Federation of Gujarat and the Consulate General of India.
Focus on investment and startup ecosystem
On August 24, Patel led a roundtable with members of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), providing an opportunity to discuss Gujarat’s startup ecosystem and possible areas of collaboration.
He also met Goldy Hyder, president and CEO of the Business Council of Canada. Other scheduled meetings included discussions with Sanjeev Gill, AVP, Innovation, University of Waterloo; Mark Selby, CEO of Canada Nickel Co.; representatives of HGS Bioscience; Peter Clarke and Chandra Ramaswamy of Fairfax; and James Prescott of Canadian Tyres.
The Gujarat delegation will also participate in a GSFC roundtable with representatives of Export Development Canada and other business leaders. The meetings are expected to cover potential investment and partnership opportunities across sectors.
Before leaving Canada, Patel will visit Niagara Falls and is scheduled to depart for Dubai on August 25.
Business outreach in US
The Toronto visit follows meetings held by Patel in San Francisco, Washington, DC and New York. During the US leg, the chief minister engaged with companies and technology leaders to discuss opportunities for investment and collaboration in Gujarat.
In San Francisco, Patel met representatives and senior executives from TDK Ventures, Wadhwani Foundation, Applied Materials, Modutech Corporation, Zscaler and Analog Devices. He also visited the Consulate General of India in San Francisco.
In Washington, the Gujarat delegation met Micron and Google executives. Patel also held a one-on-one meeting with Aravind Srinivas, co-founder and CEO of Perplexity, and met Dan Bryant, executive vice-president, global public policy and government affairs at Walmart.
The chief minister also interacted with members of THE Silicon Valley during the US visit.
The state government is positioning the international tour as part of its broader outreach to global companies and institutions. The engagements are intended to identify opportunities for investment, technology partnerships, entrepreneurship and other forms of cooperation ahead of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2027.
