PTC Web Desk: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to undertake a two-day bilateral visit to India in early March, marking the first standalone trip by a Canadian Prime Minister to the country in nearly eight years.

According to India’s High Commissioner to Canada, Dinesh Patnaik, preparations for the visit are at an advanced stage. While the final schedule is yet to be officially announced, Carney is likely to be in New Delhi and Mumbai on March 1 and 2.

The visit is being described as “professional and businesslike,” with discussions set to span defence cooperation, trade expansion, energy security, education, research, artificial intelligence, agri-food collaboration and space and aerospace innovation. Talks on the proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) are also expected to figure prominently on the agenda.

Carney is likely to be accompanied by his wife, Diana Fox Carney, along with senior Cabinet colleagues, including Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand and Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne.

High Commissioner Patnaik indicated that the trip is aimed at broadening engagement across all sectors that define a modern bilateral partnership. Energy cooperation is expected to cover nuclear power, oil and gas and critical minerals. Defence collaboration, ranging from strategic dialogue to equipment production, will also be a key focus area.

Sources familiar with the planning said the India leg may be part of a broader Indo-Pacific outreach that includes Japan and Australia, effectively bringing together three Quad members, excluding the United States.

The visit will be Carney’s first major overseas bilateral engagement since assuming office. He had recently cancelled plans to attend the Munich Security Conference following a tragedy in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia. His most recent international appearance was at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he spoke about shifts in the global rules-based order.

This trip also signals a continued thaw in India-Canada relations, which deteriorated sharply in September 2023 after former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged in Canada’s Parliament that there were “credible allegations” linking Indian agents to the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia. India strongly rejected those claims.

Bilateral ties began to stabilise after Carney replaced Trudeau in March last year and retained office following Canada’s federal election in April 2025. Carney and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have already met twice this year, first at the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Kananaskis and later on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Johannesburg, where both sides agreed to move forward on CEPA negotiations.

Diplomatic observers see the upcoming visit as a potential turning point, aimed at consolidating what officials have described as a “new beginning” in India-Canada relations.