Negotiations were progressing well, she said, adding that Indian trade negotiators had visited Canada last week, while Canadian Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu was in India with a business delegation. Prime Minister Mark Carney and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also discussed the agreement. Modi is expected to visit Canada in December.
Canada aims to double its non-US trade over the next 10 years as part of a broader strategy to strengthen economic ties with the European Union, China and other countries while maintaining cooperation with Washington on trade, defence and security.
“It is really about our national resilience and our sovereignty,” Anand said, stressing the need to avoid dependence on any single country.
The proposed India pact could more than double bilateral goods and services trade to $70 billion annually by 2030, from $30.4 billion in 2025. Goods trade between the countries stood at $10.9 billion last year, with Canadian exports declining 26.5% from 2024 and imports from India rising 18.9%.
Closer economic cooperation has also produced a $2.6 billion uranium supply agreement between Canadian company Cameco and India, signed earlier this year. Canadian firm Fairfax Financial Holdings has also agreed to acquire a majority stake in IDBI Bank in a deal valued at 528.78 billion rupees ($5.56 billion).
Separately, Canada and the European Union are expected to discuss cooperation on critical minerals, energy and artificial intelligence at a summit later this month. Ottawa has also signed a free trade agreement with Indonesia and is seeking a pact with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 2026.
India and Canada are rebuilding ties following a diplomatic dispute over the 2023 killing of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada. Anand said restoring relations was gradual, with national security and the rule of law remaining central to the process.