Canada Seeks Deeper Economic Ties with India Amid US Trade War
Canada's Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne expressed optimism about deepening economic ties with India during a joint press conference in Toronto on August 28, 2026. He highlighted India's large market and growth prospects as major opportunities for Canadian businesses.
Champagne emphasized that Canada and India are aligned in their ambition to expand their economic relationship and praised India's economic rise, calling it the world's fastest-growing major economy. India has surpassed Japan to become the fourth-largest economy in the world, with 1.4 billion people offering a vast consumer market.
The two countries are working towards concluding negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) by the end of 2026 and exploring wider use of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI). They also aim to increase bilateral trade to CAD 70 billion by 2030, which would reduce Canada's dependence on its largest trading partner, the US.
The comments come amid an escalating trade dispute between Canada and the US, with Ottawa seeking greater diversification of its economic relationships. The Canadian government has imposed retaliatory tariffs on around 700 products imported from the US in response to a 50% tariff hike by President Donald Trump.