The positivity in relations between India and Canada has percolated to the level of states, a senior Indian official said while remarking on a successful trade mission undertaken by the Canadian Hindu Chamber of Commerce (CHCC) in January this year.
That comment was made by India’s Acting Consul General in Toronto Kapidhwaja Pratap Singh at an event last week to review its outcomes and strategic impact. He said that the chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana held meetings with the Chamber’s representatives highlighted the “reciprocal positivity” which has “percolated down to the (Indian) states.” He also underscored the role played by organisations such as CHCC in fostering bilateral engagement.
The CHCC mission was the first by a Canadian trade delegation to India after ties renewed over the course of the last nine months. That process started with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney inviting his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Kananaskis in June 2025, where they held their first bilateral meeting. They met again in November on the margins of the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg. Carney conducted a bilateral visit to India in late February and met Modi in New Delhi on March 2. Both PMs have stressed on trade and investment ties between the two countries. The launch of fresh negotiations towards a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) is aimed at expanding bilateral trade to CA$70 billion ( ₹4.65 lakh crore) by 2030.
CHCC wants to take forward the momentum from the trade mission, rooted in the thaw in bilateral ties, by hosting its signature event Invest India, Invest Canada thrice this year to enhance general awareness about the trade opportunities between the two countries. CHCC president Kushagr Sharma said, “We’re expanding it and doing three this year, across Canada, west coast to east coast, and industry specific and state specific.” CHCC plans to involve Canadian government stakeholders as well as state governments in each of these events. Each will be focused on a specific state. As Sharma pointed out, “We’re going to identify key areas where these states can have investment happen.”
The CHCC’s second trade mission to India occurred in January, and among those the delegation met were UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Lucknow and his Haryana counterpart Nayab Singh Saini in New Delhi.
During the visit, it was decided that the Chamber will establish 50 hospitality units in Ayodhya in about a year, according to its founder Naresh Chavda. As CHCC said in a release, “This initiative can create a model where global Hindus invest together to support religious tourism, community connection and cultural heritage.”