Thaw in Canadian Winter

After two years of strained diplomatic relations, as India and Canada look to iron out creases, the interim trade deal is back on the table

- SHREYA NANDI

For the last few years, relations between India and Canada have been cold- even frigid- but a thaw is in sight. Among the factors effecting this shift is bilateralism, which has become the flavour of the season, courtesy Trump-era trade wars. Also, there has been a regime change in Canada, with Justin Trudeau making way for a new Prime Minister.

Last month, as part of the efforts to reset their diplomatic ties, India and Canada decided to resume talks for an interim trade agreement after a lull of nearly two years.

The decision followed a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Canadian counterpart, Mike Carney, on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Alberta, the westernmost of Canada's three prairie provinces. Modi and Carney also agreed to resume senior ministerial as well as working-level engagements across domains to "rebuild trust" and "bring momentum" to the relationship. Another decision was to designate new high commissioners in each other's capitals. This was Modi's first in-person interaction with Canada's new Prime Minister.

The development is significant, considering how severely fractured the relations had become.

The ties plummeted to an all-time low after a diplomatic spat over the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June 2023, with then Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, alleging a potential India link to it. Things went further downhill last year when Canadian authorities suggested that the Indian high commissioner and five other diplomats were linked to Nijjar's murder. In protest, India recalled the six diplomats in October, and also expelled an equal number of Canadian diplomats.

The political tensions had a direct impact on trade deal talks, which were stalled in September 2023. Negotiations, at that point, were at an advanced stage and both sides had hoped to finalise the deal by the end of that year.