India, Canada to begin fifth CEPA negotiation round in Ottawa on October 5

India and Canada will begin the fifth round of negotiations for the proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in Ottawa on October 5, with both sides aiming to conclude the talks by the end of this year, an official said.

The five-day negotiations are expected to continue until October 9. The fourth round of talks concluded in New Delhi on September 18.

The negotiations have gathered pace as both countries seek to complete the proposed trade agreement by the end of the calendar year.

The talks assume significance as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney had said last month that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit Canada around December.

Canada's Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu is also scheduled to visit New Delhi later this month with a 300-member business delegation. Sidhu and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal met in Mumbai last month to review the progress of the negotiations.

A CEPA is a comprehensive trade agreement under which countries seek to substantially reduce or eliminate customs duties on a wide range of goods. Such agreements can also ease rules governing the movement of skilled professionals and facilitate investment between the participating countries.

Pause and restart

India and Canada first launched negotiations for the proposed CEPA in 2015. More than half a dozen rounds of talks were held between 2015 and 2017 before the negotiations were paused.

The two countries resumed discussions in March 2022 for an interim trade agreement, officially called the Early Progress Trade Agreement.

Negotiations were paused again in 2023 after bilateral ties deteriorated following then Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegation of a potential Indian link to the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. India rejected the allegation as "absurd".

In November 2025, the two countries agreed to resume formal negotiations for the proposed trade agreement.

The renewed momentum in bilateral ties followed a meeting between Modi and Carney on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Canada, in June last year.

Bilateral trade

Bilateral trade in goods declined 8.23 per cent to USD 7.95 billion in 2025-26 from USD 8.7 billion in 2024-25.

India's exports to Canada rose 10.63 per cent to USD 4.67 billion in 2025-26, while imports from Canada fell 26.14 per cent to USD 3.28 billion.

There are around 2.9 million people of Indian origin in Canada and more than 4.27 lakh Indian students in the country.

India's major exports to Canada include pharmaceuticals, iron and steel, seafood, cotton garments, electronic goods and chemicals. Key imports from Canada include pulses, pearls and semi-precious stones, coal, fertilisers, paper and crude petroleum.

India's services exports to Canada are led by telecommunications, computer and information services and other business services.

Canada has invested USD 4.8 billion in India in foreign direct investment between April 2000 and June 2026.