Prime Minister Mark Carney met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday in New Delhi, where the two leaders announced a series of agreements, including a strategic energy partnership.
The deals come as new allegations emerge about the Indian government's involvement in the murder of a Canadian Sikh activist.
"There has been more engagement between the Canadian and Indian governments in the last year than there has been in than two decades combined," Carney said in joint remarks with Modi.
"So this is not merely the renewal of a relationship. It is the expansion of a valued partnership with new ambition."
The agreements announced by Carney and Modi Monday include a $2.6 billion agreement in which Saskatoon-based Cameco would supply just under 22 million pounds of uranium to India for nuclear energy generation, and two memorandums of understanding that cover topics including critical minerals and energy sources.
A government release says the visit also led to 10 commercial agreements worth more than $5.5 billion.
The Carney-Modi meetings — a bilateral with respective delegations followed by a 35-minute private one-on-one — ran long, leading to the cancellation of lunch meeting with additional staff and the delay of a joint announcement.
Then a news conference with Carney, the first time the prime minister was set to answer questions from the media since the trip began Thursday, was cancelled just before it was scheduled to begin.
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand and International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu held a media scrum in Carney's place.
Carney's government has been under pressure to clarify whether it believes India is still engaged in foreign interference. The Globe and Mail published a report late Sunday about the alleged role Indian consular staff played in the murder of a Canadian Sikh activist three years ago.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar, an advocate for an independent Sikh homeland and president of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara, was killed in Surrey, B.C., in June 2023.
The Globe and Mail cited two anonymous sources who said consular staff in Vancouver provided information to help with the killing.
Anand said it would be "irresponsible" to speak directly about an active RCMP investigation while it is ongoing.
The foreign minister said that she raised broader issues of Indian foreign interference and transnational repression while meeting with officials from the Modi government.
"There is agreement between Canada and India to continue to ensure the safety and security of the Canadian population and we need to be at the table, we need to engage, we needs to have these diplomatic conversations in order to make progress of this sort," Anand said.
"It's extremely important to remember that diplomacy is not about retreating and hiving yourself off from having difficult conversations. It's very much about ensuring that the written word is marking the path forward on national security."
A news release suggested Carney had raised the issue of foreign interference, noting the prime minister had "underscored that Canada will continue to take measures to combat transnational repression."
Anand repeatedly referred to that news release in response to multiple questions on the Nijjar investigation. She also pointed to actions taken by the Canadian government including listing the Bishnoi Gang as a terrorist entity, working to pass bail reform legislation aimed at tackling a rise in extortion and the expulsion of Indian diplomats in 2024.
During a background briefing with reporters before the trip to India, a senior government official said Canada is confident Indian foreign interference is not happening anymore.
The official said that Canada believed India was still interfering in its democracy, Carney would not be making this trip.
Anand said Canada remains focused on protecting Canadian citizens and national security.
"The words of the senior official are not words that I personally would use. I agree with his comments relating to the guardrails that we have in place," she said.
Earlier in the trip, Carney first announced the two countries were working toward signing a comprehensive trade deal by the end of the year. Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand also announced a new Canada-India strategy on talent and innovation, which includes 13 new partnerships between Canadian and Indian universities.
Carney landed in India on Friday, the first visit by a Canadian prime minister since diplomatic relations disintegrated two years ago, after then prime minister Justin Trudeau accused agents of the Indian government of being involved in Nijjar's killing.
After the allegations around Nijjar's death, the RCMP said there was evidence of a wider campaign of intimidation and violence.
Carney has set out to reset Canada's relationship with India, inviting Modi to the G7 summit Canada hosted last year.
In his remarks, Modi said Carney was responsible for the improved relationship.
"I give the entire credit for this increasing momentum in every area of co-operation to my friend, prime minister Carney," Modi said in remarks translated by the Indian government.
Picture Courtesy: X/ Narendra Modi
