Prime Minister Mark Carney will travel to India this week for high level talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, marking the first visit by a Canadian prime minister to India in eight years and signalling a deliberate effort to steady and expand a relationship that had sharply deteriorated.
Carney’s stop in Mumbai and New Delhi from February 26 comes at a critical moment for Canada’s Indo-Pacific strategy. He is expected to focus on trade, energy, artificial intelligence, defence cooperation, and stronger people to people ties.
The last time a Canadian prime minister visited India was in February 2018, when Justin Trudeau led a week long trip to New Delhi and Mumbai. Before that, the previous prime ministerial visit took place in 2012.
Relations plunged to a historic low in 2023 after Trudeau publicly alleged potential links between agents of the Indian government and the killing of a Canadian citizen in British Columbia. India denied the allegations, and both countries expelled senior diplomats.
Since taking office, Carney has adopted a more calibrated tone, emphasizing economic engagement and strategic cooperation while maintaining Canada’s core positions on rule of law and sovereignty.
Carney and Modi have met previously on the margins of multilateral gatherings, including G20 summits, but this will be their first dedicated bilateral meeting since Carney became prime minister.
India is Canada’s seventh largest trading partner in goods and services, with two way trade reaching 30.8 billion dollars in 2024. Both leaders met on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Kananaskis in June 2025. They met again at the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg on November 23, 2025, where both sides pointed to improved momentum and a new roadmap for bilateral engagement announced by foreign ministers in October.
Carney is expected to meet Indian business leaders to attract new investment into Canada and promote collaboration in clean energy, critical minerals, advanced manufacturing, and technology.
Anita Anand, Minister of Foreign Affairs, confirmed she will accompany the Prime Minister, posting that she will be “returning to India with the Prime Minister this week to further diversify trade and to unlock additional opportunities for Canadians, including by elevating all sectors of the Canadian economy and enhancing our people to people ties.” Anand has travelled to India previously in ministerial roles, and her presence underscores Ottawa’s push to restore sustained high level engagement.
I will be returning to India with the Prime Minister this week to further diversify trade and to unlock additional opportunities for Canadians, including by elevating all sectors of the Canadian economy and enhancing our people to people ties.https://t.co/UoLyCKpjCy
— Anita Anand (@AnitaAnandMP) February 23, 2026
