India first: Carney faces a strategic test in the Indo-Pacific

Mark Carney’s meeting with Narendra Modi was more than a photo-op. It signalled a strategic pivot: Canada is re-entering the Indo-Pacific with clarity.

- DEAN BAXENDALE

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s outreach to Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G20 has taken on deeper significance following Russian President Vladimir Putin's recent visit to India.

For Canada, this is a wake-up call. The Indo-Pacific is not just where the 21st century is being shaped—it’s where power is being brokered, and alliances are being re-calibrated in real time.

Carney’s meeting with Modi was more than a photo-op. It signalled a strategic pivot: Canada is reentering the Indo-Pacific with clarity, conviction, and commercial urgency. After the CEPA debacle under Trudeau—where Ottawa's foreign policy posturing alienated New Delhi and collapsed economic talks—Carney is attempting a reset grounded in realism. The rekindling of CEPA isn’t just trade diplomacy; it's damage control and a strategic necessity.

Trudeau's 2023 theatrics in the House of Commons—exploiting the Nijjar killing to score political points—derailed what should have been a mature, values-based partnership with the world’s largest democracy. As I wrote last year, Trudeau's performance art on foreign interference missed the real threat: the Chinese Communist Party’s covert operations in Canada. Instead, he targeted India, an emerging ally, and derailed bilateral diplomacy. Carney now has to clean up the mess—and fast.

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