Canada Targets Doubling Trade With India to $60 Billion, Energy Ties Take Centre Stage

Canada’s ambitious push to double bilateral trade with India from $30 billion to $60 billion by the end of the decade is taking centre stage as Ottawa prepares for a high-level visit to New Delhi, Canada’s Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson said at India Energy Week.

Hodgson, who has been laying the groundwork for the Canadian prime minister’s widely anticipated visit in March, said the expanding trade relationship signals a strategic realignment between the two countries amid global economic uncertainty. “Our prime minister is a businessperson. He sets clear key performance indicators,” Hodgson said on Wednesday in an interview. “Today, bilateral trade between Canada and India stands at about $30 billion. He has been very clear that he expects this to double by the end of the decade.”

The minister’s visit is the latest in a series of high-level Canadian engagements following a recent reset in bilateral relations between India and Canada.

Highlighting energy as the foundation of the renewed partnership, Hodgson noted that Canada, which accounts for around 6% of global oil production, currently supplies less than 1% of India’s oil imports. “If we simply moved to a more typical share, it would make both countries stronger, more resilient and more secure,” he said.

Hodgson added that while India already purchases meaningful volumes of Canadian LNG and oil, much of it currently routes through the US Gulf Coast due to infrastructure limitations. New energy infrastructure being developed on Canada’s west coast is expected to cut shipping time by 10 days to two weeks, lowering costs for Indian buyers and improving returns for Canadian exporters.

Responding to India’s target of adding 100 gigawatts of nuclear power capacity, Hodgson pointed to Canada’s uranium reserves, which he described as the highest quality and purest globally. “Canada has historically supplied uranium to India. We provide uranium for peaceful purposes to countries across the world. There is a significant opportunity to expand those supplies,” he said.

The minister also expressed strong interest in India’s renewable energy push, highlighting Canada’s strengths in critical minerals needed for solar power, grid-scale energy storage, and green hydrogen. “In my meetings, I’ve heard tremendous interest in Canadian lithium, strong demand for Canadian graphite, and enormous interest in Canadian copper,” Hodgson said, calling it an opportunity for India to diversify supply chains.

“You’ve been diversifying your energy sourcing,” Hodgson said, referring to comments by Union petroleum and natural gas minister Hardeep Singh Puri. “You’ve gone from around 20 supplier countries to about 40. That’s a smart move. At the same time, we are looking to diversify our customer base,” he added.