Ottawa:

Mark Carney, the new leader of Canada’s ruling Liberal Party, who is set to become the next Canadian Prime Minister, wants to “rebuild” the strained ties with India, which deteriorated under his predecessor Justin Trudeau. The 59-year-old former Central banker also wants to diversify Ottawa’s trade relationship with New Delhi.

Carney won a race to replace Trudeau as Canada’s top leader after securing 85.9 per cent of votes in the Liberal Party leadership race. 

Recently, before his election, Carney addressed the issue of US tariffs on Canada during a media interaction in Calgary, Alberta, and said to deal with it, “What Canada will be looking to do is to diversify our trading relationships with like-minded countries, and there are opportunities to rebuild the relationship with India.”

“There needs to be a shared sense of values around that commercial relationship, and if I am Prime Minister, I look forward to the opportunity to build that,” he added.

An added advantage for India with Carney helming Canada would be his knowledge about Ottawa’s economic ties with New Delhi.  He had previously led both the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England and also headed the board of Brookfield Asset Management, which has invested in India’s realty, renewable energy and infrastructure sectors. He vacated the position in January.

Any effort by Ottawa to improve bilateral ties is likely to be welcomed by New Delhi, especially amid US President Donald Trump’s tariff threats affecting both countries. With Canada being one of the top destinations for Indians migrating abroad, New Delhi may also raise the issue of Ottawa restricting immigration and tightening visa norms with the new Canadian leadership.

India Canada Ties

The ties between India and Canada plummeted to an all-time low after Trudeau in September 2023 alleged that Indians were involved in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on June 18 that year. New Delhi repeatedly refuted the allegations, calling them “baseless”. Following this, both countries expelled each other’s top diplomats.

Ottawa had also paused the Early Progress Trade Agreement, which would have been concluded in 2023.