Indo-Canadian or Canada-India relations are the longstanding bilateral relations between Canada and India based upon a “mutual commitment to democracy”, “pluralism”, and “people-to-people links”.

Both Canada and India are members of the Commonwealth of Nations and exchange high commissioners rather than ambassadors. India’s High Commission to Canada is in Ottawa, whereas Canada’s is located in New Delhi. Canada maintains consulates in Mumbai, Bangalore, and Chandigarh, and trade offices in Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Chennai, and Hyderabad. India’s consulates are in Vancouver and Toronto.

At the Ministerial level, both the countries enjoy a strategic partnership supported by Ministerial Dialogues on:

●     Foreign Policy

●     Trade and Investment

●     Finance

●     Energy

●     At the Officials’ level, there are regular working groups that focus on:

●     Counterterrorism

●     Security

●     Agriculture

●     Education

●     Science and Technology

Trade Relations

Both countries are engaged in technical negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) including trade in goods, services, investment, etc.

India is Canada’s 9th largest export market and 10th largest trading partner overall. Canada’s commercial priorities in India include:

●     Supporting India’s energy security through increased exports of conventional and nuclear energy as well as clean and renewable energy technology

●     Helping India to meet its urban and transportation infrastructure needs through financing, equipment technology, and engineering services

●     Collaboration between Canadian and Indian educational and technical institutions for enhanced skills training.

●     Commercial research and development to drive innovations in sectors of technology, information, and communications

●     Supporting India’s food security needs by increasing exports of food products and fertilizers

Air India (currently suspended) and Jet Airways operate air services to Canada. State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Government of India Tourist Office, Air India, and Jet Airways has offices in Canada. Many renowned companies like Tata, Aditya Birla, Reliance, Wipro, Infosys, TCS, Essar, etc. have a presence in Canada. Canada has set up trade offices in Ahmedabad, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, Bangalore, and New Delhi. Canadian companies- Bombardier, SNC Lavalin, CAE, Inc., etc. have a strong presence in India.

Bilateral Trade during 2011was more than US$5 billion. India’s export to Canada in 2011 were up 25 percent and imports registered an increase of 31.7 percent over 2010.

Major Indian exports: Medicines, garments, diamonds, chemicals, gems and jewelry, petroleum oils, seafood, engineering goods, marble and granite, knitted garments, rice, electrical equipment, plastic products, etc.

Major Canadian exports to India: pulses, fertilizers, newsprint, aircraft and aviation equipment, diamonds, copper ores and concentrates, bituminous coal, wood pulp, Unwrought aluminum, asbestos, cameras, lumber, ferrous waste, etc.

Cultural Relations

Following the announcements of Indian and Canadian Prime Ministers in November 2009, the Year of India 2011 (YOI), was organized in different cities of Canada including a variety of events- cultural shows, Writer festivals, film festivals, food festivals, trade shows, Education Summit, Innovation summit, PBD-Canada, installation of Gandhi statues, Tagore anniversary, etc. The Rt. Hon Stephen Harper, PM of Canada officiated at both the inaugural and the closing ceremonies of YOI. Many Indian dignitaries officiated at the vents as well.

In the field of Education, the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute (SICI) was founded in 1986 to promote academic relations. As of today, 50 universities from India and 40 from Canada are the members of the institute. The objective of SICI is to promote Canadian studies in India and Indian studies in Canada. ICCR has sanctioned India Chairs for 5 Canadian universities- Carleton, McGill, York, Toronto, and McMaster. India specific centers have been established in Canadian Universities, the most prominent being- Canada India Centre of Excellence at Carleton, Ottawa.

Bilateral Education Summit was held in Ottawa in June 2011. Currently, there are approx. 23,000 Indian students in Canada, making India the second-largest source of foreign students.

Development Relationship

Through Grand Challenges Canada, Canada invested $4.55 million in 2018-19 to support 20 projects in India. The main programming sector of the Partnership for Development Innovation Branch is maternal, new-born and child health, including support to early childhood development.

Funding from Canada supports key organizations in India such as the Micronutrient Initiative, the UN Development Program, The UN Population Fund, and the Multilateral Fund for Implementation of Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer. Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the World Bank, UNICEF, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria, the Gavi Vaccine Alliance, and Nutrition International are some of the other important organizations in India that are supported by Canada.