'Ready To Move Forward': Canadian Envoy On India-Canada Reset

Canada is ready to take its relationship with India forward, its envoy in Delhi Christopher Cooter told NDTV a day after Mark Carney took over as the Prime Minister, succeeding Justin Trudeau under whom the bilateral relations had hit a roadblock. Cooter said the Prime Ministers of both nations are pragmatic men, who have a "vision of where they want their countries to go".

"It was a great shame that the relationship was at a rocky period," said Cooter, pointing out that since then, much work has gone into repairing the situation. 

Asked whether the question of free speech that had allowed Canada to become a hub of pro-Khalistan Sikhs has been resolved now and the Indian "interference" that Ottawa had alleged, Cooter said the political dimensions in Canada have "shifted somewhat" and there is better understanding now between New Delhi and Ottawa.

"I think there's a confidence about each other that we didn't have before, and I feel that we are ready to move forward... I think both Prime Ministers agree that in this world, we have to be pragmatic... Principle too, but we also have to be realistic. You are the fastest growing large economy in the world... We need a new partner, a new economic partner, and you stand out in that space," he said.  

Regarding the possibilities of disagreements in the future, he said, "We have mechanisms and the trust in place so we can handle them in a very pragmatic way".

India-Canada ties had nosedived since 2024 Trudeau's allegations about the "potential" involvement of Indian government agents in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, one of India's most-wanted terrorists, who was also a Canadian citizen. 

Ottawa had even accused Sanjay Kumar Verma -- Indian envoy and one of the country's senior-most diplomats -- of having links to the murder of Nijjar. India had rubbished the allegations and withdrawn the envoy.

Cooter pointed out today that even in that "difficult period", trade between India and Canada had grown.

"We have $100 billion of Canadian investment here in India and many companies who have employed tens of thousands of people in both countries. We estimate about 100,000 Indians are employed by Canadian companies, but 50,000 are employed by Indian companies in Canada," he said.

The fact that trade volumes and investment volumes continued to grow underscored that the foundation is "very strong between us". "There was turbulence at the top. Now that's been settled, and I think positioned to go forward," he added.

Going forward, Cooter said Canada would like be a "reliable" energy partner for India and starting 2027, "We might be able to start to see the flow in the direction of India and that would apply as well to oil, that would apply to LNG too, and also met coal, which you need to produce a lot of steel".

The other areas of cooperation, he added, would be in uranium and other forms of nuclear energy, critical minerals and rare earth.

"And also the skills, because we are the world's largest mining country... we have very advanced technology and that technology is applied by people who really know the mining sector. So as you open up your mining sector, we have had a lot of conversations with your mining industry about that," he said.

Ottawa, Coote added, is also addressing the concerns of Indian students in terms of visa and housing. "We have raised the levels of finance that students will require so when they come, we know they won't be in difficulty financially. We are sympathetic on the visa question as well. We've reduced the amount of time it takes to get a student visa and we're looking hard in Ottawa at how we can make this work better," he said. 

In future there is also a possibility that colleges and universities can come to India. "That might mean bricks-and-mortar campuses, that could mean joint degrees, that could mean a variety of other arrangements that work better for Indian students and better for Canada too. We will see that unfold over the next few months," he added.