In a surprise joint statement issued on December 4, officials in Ottawa and New Delhi agreed to “restart formal discussions” toward a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) that has languished since 2017. The thaw follows months of quiet, back-channel diplomacy aimed at repairing relations after last year’s diplomatic row over alleged interference.
Canadian Trade Minister Mary Ng and India’s Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal will meet in Mumbai in January to set a negotiation calendar and review market-access offers. Both sides say an early-progress agreement covering services, digital trade and temporary entry for highly skilled workers could be finalised by mid-2026, ahead of a fuller goods accord.
![India and Canada Re-Launch Negotiations on Long-Stalled Comprehensive Trade Pact]()
For global-mobility stakeholders, the restart is significant. India is Canada’s single largest source of international students and temporary foreign workers; 226,000 Indians received Canadian work or study permits in 2024. A CEPA chapter on “temporary entry of business persons” could streamline short-term work visas, mutual recognition of professional credentials and intra-company transfer rules—areas where Canadian multinationals currently face duplication and delays.
Corporate HR leaders should watch for pilot projects on reciprocal trusted-traveller schemes and digital credentials. Ottawa is under pressure from tech giants and agri-food processors to secure faster pathways for project engineers and seasonal workers, while India is expected to push for easier post-study work options for its graduates in Canada.
Analysts caution that political headwinds remain—particularly around dairy, data localisation and investor-state dispute settlement—but the willingness to talk signals that both governments see trade and talent flows as essential to economic recovery. Businesses reliant on Indo-Canadian mobility should begin mapping scenarios for relaxed visa quotas and explore partnerships that could qualify for expedited entry once a deal is struck.
Canadian Trade Minister Mary Ng and India’s Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal will meet in Mumbai in January to set a negotiation calendar and review market-access offers. Both sides say an early-progress agreement covering services, digital trade and temporary entry for highly skilled workers could be finalised by mid-2026, ahead of a fuller goods accord.
For global-mobility stakeholders, the restart is significant. India is Canada’s single largest source of international students and temporary foreign workers; 226,000 Indians received Canadian work or study permits in 2024. A CEPA chapter on “temporary entry of business persons” could streamline short-term work visas, mutual recognition of professional credentials and intra-company transfer rules—areas where Canadian multinationals currently face duplication and delays.
Corporate HR leaders should watch for pilot projects on reciprocal trusted-traveller schemes and digital credentials. Ottawa is under pressure from tech giants and agri-food processors to secure faster pathways for project engineers and seasonal workers, while India is expected to push for easier post-study work options for its graduates in Canada.
Analysts caution that political headwinds remain—particularly around dairy, data localisation and investor-state dispute settlement—but the willingness to talk signals that both governments see trade and talent flows as essential to economic recovery. Businesses reliant on Indo-Canadian mobility should begin mapping scenarios for relaxed visa quotas and explore partnerships that could qualify for expedited entry once a deal is struck.
