India and Canada Aim to Finish a Trade Deal (CEPA) by the End of 2026
Canada says it aims to complete a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with India by the end of 2026.
Canada wants to diversify its trade, that is, depend less on the United States, its biggest trade partner, and India is a key part of this plan.
Negotiators held the fifth round of CEPA talks in Ottawa from 5 to 9 October 2026, after earlier rounds in March (virtual), May (New Delhi), July (Ottawa) and September (New Delhi).
A Canadian trade mission of about 300 members is visiting India from 12 to 17 October 2026. The two sides want to raise yearly two-way trade to about C$70 billion by 2030.
Growing energy ties include a long-term deal (announced in March 2026) under which Canada's Cameco will supply India's Department of Atomic Energy with about 22 million pounds of uranium ore concentrate from 2027 to 2035, worth about C$2.6 billion.
India-Canada Relations: History, Rupture and Reset
India and Canada are both democracies and members of the Commonwealth and the G20, and Canada hosts one of the largest Indian-origin communities in the world. Their ties have seen long periods of friendship and sharp breakdowns. The two biggest strains came from India's 1974 nuclear test, which used a Canadian-supplied reactor, and from the 2023 diplomatic row over a killing on Canadian soil. Since 2025, both sides have been rebuilding the relationship.
The CEPA push and the large uranium deal show that the economic side of India-Canada ties is moving fast after the diplomatic reset. Canada sees India as a big market to reduce its dependence on the United States, while India gains secure fuel for its nuclear power plants.
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 import taxes (tariffs) on most goods they trade with each other, while each keeps its own tariffs for other countries. Modern FTAs also cover services, investment, digital trade and rules of origin. India calls its broader FTAs by names like CEPA (Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement), CECA or ECTA, but they are all FTAs in the WTO sense.
The proposed India-Canada CEPA is a "comprehensive" FTA: beyond cutting tariffs, it would cover services, investment and rules. Talks were first started in 2010, paused in 2023, and relaunched with a 2026 target.
Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)
The Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) is a group of 48 countries that supply nuclear materials and technology. They follow a common set of rules (called guidelines) to make sure that nuclear fuel, reactors and related equipment are sold only for peaceful use, such as making electricity, and not for making nuclear weapons. It is not a treaty or a UN body. It is an informal club whose members voluntarily agree to follow its rules through their own national export laws.
The Cameco deal to supply about 22 million pounds of uranium to India from 2027 to 2035 is possible only because the NSG's 2008 waiver lets members like Canada trade nuclear fuel with India. Canada, whose reactor was linked to India's 1974 test that led to the NSG's creation, is now one of India's key uranium suppliers.
- CEPA target: conclude talks by end of 2026; fifth round in Ottawa, 5 to 9 October 2026
- CEPA terms of reference finalised in March 2026; talks first launched in 2010 and paused in 2023
- Trade target: about C$70 billion two-way trade a year by 2030
- 2025 two-way trade (goods and services, Canadian data): about C$30.4 billion
- Cameco-DAE uranium deal: about C$2.6 billion; about 22 million pounds of uranium ore concentrate; 2027 to 2035
- First Cameco-India contract (2015): about 7.1 million pounds, about C$350 million
- India-Canada Nuclear Cooperation Agreement: signed 2010, in force 2013
- Team Canada trade mission to India: 12 to 17 October 2026, about 300 members