India-Canada Relation

Political Relations:
India established diplomatic relations with Canada in 1947. In Canada, India is represented by
the High Commission of India in Ottawa and the Consulate General of India in Toronto and
Vancouver. In India, Canada is represented by the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi;
the Consulates General of Canada in Bangalore, Chandigarh & Mumbai, a Consulate in
Kolkata. India and Canada have longstanding bilateral relationship based on shared
democratic values, pluralistic societies and strong people-to-people contacts. In recent years,
both countries have been working to enhance bilateral cooperation in a number of areas of
mutual importance. High level visits have taken place in recent past including at PM levels:
Dr.Manmohan Singh visited Canada in 2010; Prime Minister Stephen Harper visited India in
2009 and 2012; and the Governor General David Lloyd Johnston visited India in
February/March 2014. The inaugural India-Canada Strategic Dialogue was held in September
2013 co-chaired by then External Affairs Minister Shri Salman Khurshid and Minister of
Foreign Affairs Mr. John Baird. The first India Canada Ministerial Energy Dialogue was held in
Ottawa in October 2013.
India and Canada pursue bilateral relations through the mechanisms of annual Foreign Office
Consultations, Ministerial level Strategic Dialogue, Ministerial Level Energy Dialogue, Joint
Committee on Nuclear Cooperation Agreement, Trade Policy Consultations, Economic and
Financial Sector Policy Dialogue, Joint Working Group on Counter-terrorism, Science &
Technology Committee, Environment Forum, Energy Forum, Steering Committee on Mining
and Earth Sciences; and Joint Working Groups on ICTE, Education, Pulses, Plant Protection,
Health, Agriculture and SPS issues.
India and Canada have signed several agreements including the Air Services Agreement,
Extradition Treaty, Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty and Agreement on Patents. In recent years
both sides have signed Agreement on Cooperation in Agriculture, Agreement on Science and
Technology and Environment Cooperation, Nuclear Cooperation Agreement, Social Security
Agreement, and Audio-Visual Co-Production Agreement. There are MOUs on: Cooperation in
Energy, Cooperation in Space, Cooperation in Mining and Earth Sciences, Cooperation in
Higher Education, Cultural Cooperation, Cooperation in Intelligent Transport Systems,
Cooperation in ICTE, Cooperation in the Field of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Cooperation on
Global Health Challenges, and Cooperation on Skill Development. Separate MOUs on Mines
and Mineral Resources have been signed with the Provinces of Saskatchewan, British
Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec. Department of Research & Development Organization
(DRDO) has signed MOU with York University for R&D in Early Warning and Advance
Response Network (E-Warn). A Social Security Agreement has also been signed with the
Government of Quebec.
Agreements/MOUs under negotiation are: Foreign Investment Promotion Agreement (FIPA),
and Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).
Commercial Relations:
Trade: The bilateral trade between India and Canada, at its current level, do not reflect the true
potential of the commercial relationship. In the Joint Statement issued on the occasion of the
State visit of Prime Minster Harper to India in November 2012, the two sides reiterated the
shared desire to see the bilateral trade reach $15 billion by 2015. While the two-way bilateral
trade in 2012 was US$ 5.2 billion, in 2013 it increased to over US$ 5.7 billion, registering an
increase of 7.69%.

Major item of Indian exports during 2013: Jewellery and silverware, organic chemicals,
pharmaceuticals, petroleum products, textiles, sea food, iron & steel, electrical equipment,
machinery and auto parts, leather & footwear products, etc.
Major items of Canada’s export to India in 2013: Peas and bean, minerals & metals, papers,
aerospace products, gold & silver ore, medical instruments, rubber, oil & gas extraction,
industrialmachinery, iron & steel, etc.
Investment: The stock of two-way direct investment between India and Canada is as under:

The cumulative Indian FDI in Canada has been more than Canadian FDI inflows into India.
Indian investment in Canada hasincreased steadily in the recent years, especially in the
information technology, software and natural resources sectors. A Bilateral Investment
Promotion Agreement is under negotiation. Canadian investors are present in the Indian
banking,insurance and financial services sectors, as also in engineering and consultancy
services.
An annualised Trade Ministers Dialogue has been institutionalised to review trade and
economic relations. Both sides are engaged in negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic
Partnership Agreement (CEPA) covering trade in goods, services, investment and trade
facilitation. Separate MOUs exist to advance relations in the fields of energy, mining and
agriculture.
State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Government of India Tourist Office, Air India, ONGC Videsh
Limited and Jet Airways has offices operating in Canada. Jet Airways operate air services to
Canada. Air India operation to Canada has been suspended. Air Canada would be introducing
direct flights to Delhi from Toronto starting November 2015. Leading Indian companies have
presence in Canada such as Tata Steel, Aditya Birla Group, Reliance, Wipro, Infosys, TCS,
Mahindra Satyam, Essar Group, Jubilant, IFFCO and GSFC.
Canada has established Trade Offices in Ahmedabad, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata.
Reputed Canadian companies such as Bombardier, SNC Lavalin, and CAE Inc. have a strong
presence in India.
Cultural Relations:
In view of the large Indian diaspora in Canada, there are number of local organisations
promoting Indian culture, especially performing arts. The Mission in collaboration with ICCR
seeks to supplement the activities of these cultural organisations. Pursuant to the
announcement made by Indian and Canadian Prime Ministers in November 2009, the Year of
India 2011 was organized in different cities of Canada which included multi sectoral events
such as cultural shows, Writers festivals, film festivals, food festivals, trade shows, Education
Summit, Innovation Summit, PBD-Canada, LKA’s Moderns Exhibition, Eminent lecture series,
installation of Gandhi statues and Tagore anniversary.
In the Education field, the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute (SICI) was founded in 1968 to
promote academic exchanges mainly through funding research and linking academic
institutions in the two countries. 50 universities from India and 40 from Canada are members
of the Institute. Over 300 MOUs exist between Canadian and Indian higher education
institutions for collaborative research and exchange programmes. The two countries have
signed an MOU on High Education in June 2010 and a bilateral Education Summit was held in
Ottawa in June 2011. India is the second largest source of foreign students in Canada with
over 28,000 Indian students studying in different Canadian universities.
ICCR has established India Chairs at 5 Canadian universities: Carleton, McGill, York, Toronto,
and McMaster. India specific centres have been set up in Canadian Universities, including the
Canada India Centre of Excellence at Carleton, Ottawa.
Indian Community:
Canada is home to over one million Persons of Indian Origin. Majority of PIOs live in Greater
Toronto Area, Greater Vancouver Area, Montreal and Calgary. While the majority of the
community is from Punjab, other linguistic and ethnic groups of India are also represented in
the diaspora.
The political profile of the community has grown over the years. There are eight Indo-Canadian
MPs in the House of Commons and one in the Senate. Two PIO MPs are Ministers of State in
the Federal Government and one PIO MP is Parliamentary Secretary to the Foreign Minister.
Prominent Indo-Canadian bodies include Canada India Business Council (CIBC), Canada
India Foundation (CIF), Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (I-CCC) and other local
chambers and associations