India and Canada to hold fifth round of CEPA negotiations in October

India and Canada are set to hold the fifth round of negotiations for the proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in Ottawa from October 5, as both countries work towards concluding the pact by the end of 2026, an official said.

The five-day talks are expected to conclude on October 9, following the fourth round held in New Delhi, which ended on September 18.

Negotiations have gained momentum as the two sides are looking to wrap up the discussions within this calendar year.

The talks assume importance 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 travel to New Delhi later this month with a 300-member business delegation. Sidhu had met Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal in Mumbai last month to take stock of the negotiations.

A CEPA is a form of free trade agreement under which countries substantially reduce or eliminate customs duties on a large number of traded goods. Such agreements also seek to facilitate the movement of skilled professionals and promote investment.

India and Canada began negotiations on the proposed pact in 2015 and held more than half a dozen rounds between 2015 and 2017 before the process was put on hold.

The two countries restarted talks in March 2022 for an interim trade agreement, formally known as the Early Progress Trade Agreement.

However, Canada paused the negotiations again in 2023 after bilateral relations deteriorated following then Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations of a potential Indian link to the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. India rejected the allegation as "absurd".

Formal negotiations for the proposed free trade agreement were resumed after the two countries agreed in November 2025 to restart the process.

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.

India-Canada bilateral trade in goods fell 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 declined 26.14 per cent to USD 3.28 billion.

Canada is home to around 2.9 million people of Indian origin and more than 4,27,000 Indian students.

India's major exports to Canada include pharmaceuticals, iron and steel, seafood, cotton garments, electronic goods and chemicals. Key imports from Canada comprise 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 between April 2000 and June 2026.