India and Canada Begin the Fifth Round of CEPA Talks, Eye Energy and Critical Minerals
India and Canada began the fifth round of negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in Ottawa, Canada's capital. A CEPA is a wide trade deal covering goods, services and investment.
This round follows the fourth round, held in New Delhi in September 2026, and talks between the two trade ministers in Mumbai and at the G20 Trade Ministers Meeting.
Both governments have committed to concluding the CEPA by the end of 2026. They are aiming to raise two-way trade from about US$30 billion to US$70 billion over the next five years.
Canada pitched three areas for deeper ties: energy (especially liquefied natural gas, LNG), critical minerals and aerospace. It also stressed diversifying supply chains, especially for critical minerals.
Canada pointed to India's energy needs, which are expected to rise by 70% by 2035, and to the US$33 billion LNG Canada Phase 2 expansion, which will make that plant the second-largest of its kind in the world.
India-Canada goods trade was about US$8 billion in 2025-26: India exported about US$4.67 billion and imported about US$3.28 billion, as per the Commerce Ministry.
India-Canada Relations: History, Rupture and Reset
India and Canada are both democracies, members of the Commonwealth and the G20, and share deep people-to-people ties through one of the largest Indian diaspora communities in the world. Their relationship has seen long periods of cooperation, but also sharp breaks, most recently in 2023 and 2024. Since 2025, both sides have worked to rebuild trust, with trade and energy at the centre of the reset.
The fifth CEPA round in Ottawa shows that the reset since late 2025 is moving into concrete economic work. Canada's focus on energy, critical minerals and aerospace reflects areas where both countries see shared gains.
Free Trade Agreements: Concept and WTO Framework
A Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is a deal between two or more countries to remove or sharply cut tariffs on most of the goods they trade with each other, while each keeps its own tariffs for outsiders. Many modern FTAs also cover services, investment, digital trade and rules on standards. India often calls its broadest FTAs a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) or a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA). These names mean a wide deal that goes beyond goods.
India and Canada are negotiating a CEPA, not a simple goods-only FTA. That is why the talks cover services, investment and sectors like energy, critical minerals and aerospace, and why they take several rounds.
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG): Definition and Global Trade
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is natural gas (mostly methane) that has been cooled until it turns into a liquid. In liquid form, it takes up about one six-hundredth (1/600) of its gas volume, so it can be shipped across oceans in special tankers. At the receiving port, it is warmed back into gas (regasified) and sent through pipelines to homes, factories and power plants.
Canada is pitching itself as a reliable LNG supplier for India's fast-growing energy needs. Its expanded Pacific-coast LNG capacity could help India diversify gas imports away from its heavy reliance on West Asian suppliers.
- Fifth round of India-Canada CEPA talks: Ottawa, from 5 October 2026; fourth round held in New Delhi
- CEPA negotiations relaunched on 23 November 2025 (G20 summit, Johannesburg); target: conclude by end of 2026
- Trade ambition stated: from about US$30 billion to US$70 billion over five years
- India-Canada goods trade 2025-26: about US$8 billion (exports US$4.67 billion; imports US$3.28 billion)
- India's energy needs projected to rise 70% by 2035
- LNG Canada Phase 2: about US$33 billion; capacity from 14 to 28 million tonnes per year; second-largest facility of its kind
- Earlier timeline: CEPA talks launched 2010; EPTA talks paused September 2023