This article covers the political relationship between India and Canada: meetings between the two Prime Ministers, other high-level exchanges and the dialogue mechanisms through which the two governments work. It is based on the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) bilateral brief of July 2026, which gives its date as 22 July 2026, and it describes relations as of that date.

Basis of the relationship

According to the MEA brief of July 2026, India-Canada bilateral ties are underlined by shared democratic values, a steadfast commitment to the rule of law and people-to-people ties. The brief does not give the date on which diplomatic relations were established. Its account of recent relations begins with the leaders' meeting of June 2025.

Restoring stability in 2025

The Prime Minister of India visited Calgary on 16-17 June 2025 and took part in the session for outreach countries at the G7 Leaders' Summit in Kananaskis on 17 June 2025. The theme of the session was "Energy Security: diversification, technology and infrastructure to ensure access and affordability in a changing world". On the sidelines, he held a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney.

The brief notes that this was the first in-person interaction between the two leaders since Prime Minister Carney assumed office following Canada's federal elections in April 2025. Both sides agreed to take calibrated and constructive steps to restore stability in the relationship, beginning with the early return of High Commissioners to each other's capitals. The brief records that this return was completed in September 2025.

The two leaders also underscored the importance of restarting senior ministerial and working-level engagements to rebuild trust and bring momentum to the relationship. They discussed opportunities for future collaboration in areas such as digital transformation, artificial intelligence, LNG, food security and critical minerals.

Johannesburg, November 2025

The two Prime Ministers met again on the sidelines of the G-20 Leaders' Summit in Johannesburg on 23 November 2025 to review progress in the India-Canada partnership. They discussed expanding cooperation across trade and investment, defence, education, space, science and technology, and energy. Prime Minister Carney supported India's plan to host the AI Summit in February 2026.

Prime Minister Carney's visit to India, 2026

At the invitation of the Prime Minister of India, the Right Honourable Mark Carney, Prime Minister of Canada, paid an official visit to India from 27 February to 2 March 2026. He was accompanied by a high-level delegation that included senior ministers, provincial leaders and leading CEOs. The brief states that this was his first visit to India after taking over as Prime Minister and the first bilateral visit to India by a Canadian Prime Minister since 2018.

During the visit, the leaders agreed to adopt the principle of "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam", or "One Earth, One Family, One Future", as the overarching guiding framework for the renewed India-Canada Strategic Partnership. They also underscored the alignment between India's vision of Viksit Bharat and Canada's Build Canada Strong agenda.

Announcements made during the visit included the establishment of an India-Canada Parliament Friendship Group. India welcomed Canada's interest in joining the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) as a Dialogue Partner, and Prime Minister Carney extended an invitation to the Prime Minister of India to visit Canada. The visit also produced agreements and announcements on trade, energy, critical minerals, defence, education and culture.

Evian, June 2026

The Prime Minister of India and Prime Minister Carney met on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Evian, France, on 16 June 2026. The brief describes this as their fourth meeting in the last one year. The two leaders reviewed progress in bilateral economic cooperation and welcomed the ongoing momentum in the exchange of high-level visits and institutional engagements.

The leaders announced the establishment of Raisina Americas as a platform to further strengthen dialogue, exchanges and cooperation. The Prime Minister of India expressed India's support for Canada becoming a Dialogue Partner of the Indian Ocean Rim Association. He also thanked Prime Minister Carney for the invitation to visit Canada in 2026, with dates to be worked out through diplomatic channels.

Foreign ministers

The brief records that External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar and Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand have met 7 times since October 2025. At the invitation of the External Affairs Minister, Foreign Minister Anand made an official visit to India from 12-14 October 2025. During the visit, an India-Canada Joint Statement, "Renewing momentum towards a stronger partnership", was released on 13 October 2025, announcing the New Roadmap for bilateral engagement, and she called on Prime Minister Modi.

At the invitation of Foreign Minister Anand, the External Affairs Minister visited the Niagara Region of Canada on 11-12 November 2025 and participated in the G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting with Outreach Partners. The two ministers met again on 1 March 2026 on the sidelines of Prime Minister Carney's visit, and on 2 March 2026 Dr. S. Jaishankar called on Prime Minister Carney in New Delhi. They also held telephone conversations on 25 May 2025 and 20 March 2026.

The two ministers have also met on the sidelines of multilateral meetings and events, including:

  • the G20 in Johannesburg (November 2025)
  • the Critical Minerals Ministerial in Washington (February 2026)
  • the Munich Security Conference in Germany (February 2026)
  • the G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in France (March 2026)

Dialogue mechanisms

The brief lists official-level dialogue mechanisms that include Ministerial-level Strategic, Trade and Energy dialogues, Foreign Office Consultations, a Joint Committee Meeting on Environment and other sector-specific joint working groups (JWGs). Meetings under several of these mechanisms took place between September 2025 and May 2026.

On 19 September 2025, India and Canada held pre-Foreign Office Consultations in New Delhi, on the sidelines of the visit of the then Canadian National Security and Intelligence Advisor. The consultations were led by Mr. P. Kumaran, then Secretary (East), and Mr. David Morrison, then Deputy Foreign Minister. During the visit, Mr. Morrison also met Foreign Secretary Sh. Vikram Misri. The annual Foreign Office Consultations were held at Hyderabad House, New Delhi, on 02 September 2026, led by Secretary (East) Shri Rudrendra Tandon and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Arun Thangaraj.

Parliamentary exchanges

The Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada, Mr. Francis Scarpaleggia, visited India to attend the 28th CSPOC in New Delhi from 14-16 January 2026. On its sidelines, the Speakers of India and Canada met on 14 January 2026.

Shri Thomas A. Sangma, Speaker of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly, led a five-member delegation to Canada to participate in the 16th Commonwealth Parliamentary Seminar, held in Ottawa from 25-29 May 2026.

Other exchanges

Former Canadian Prime Minister Mr. Stephen Harper, Premier of Saskatchewan Mr. Scott Moe and Lt. Gen. Derek A. Macaulay, Regional Representative of the Chief of Defence Staff of Canada, participated in the 11th Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi from 5-7 March 2026. Mr. Victor Thomas, President and CEO of the Canada-India Business Council, and Mr. Jeff Nankivell, President and CEO of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, also attended.

Ministers have also met at multilateral events. On 9 March 2026, Minister of State for External Affairs Shri Kirti Vardhan Singh met Mr. Rob Oliphant, Parliamentary Secretary to the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Foreign Affairs Ministers' Meeting in London. On 10 March 2026, Minister of State for Women and Child Development Smt. Savitri Thakur met Canadian Minister for Women and Gender Equality Ms. Rechie Valdez on the margins of the 70th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women at the UN Headquarters in New York.