India-Canada Bialteral Relation

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in news?
• All About India-Canada Relations

 

Why in news?

• Recently, Canadian Foreign Minister met with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar for the India-Canada Strategic Dialogue held in Delhi.
• The visit is seen as an attempt by both sides to put bilateral ties back on track.
• It focused primarily on Canada’s newly released Indo-Pacific strategy that calls India an important partner.

 

All About India-Canada relations

Background of India-Canada Relations

• Diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 1947.
• Bilateral relation was elevated to a strategic partnership during PM Modi’s visit to Canada in 2015.

 

Cooperation in COVID-19 Pandemic

• Repatriation flights:
  • Special charter flights were operated by the Canadian High Commission and facilitated by India to evacuate stranded Canadian nationals from India.
• Supply of medicines: 
  • Export of a total of 12.34 crore paracetamol tablets, 5 crore Hydroxychloroquine tablets and 3510 kgs of Hydroxychloroquine Sulfate USP (API); and 10 Million eye shield with face mask were approved and shipped to Canada.

 

India-Canada: Trade relations

• A priority market for Canada, in 2021, India was Canada’s 14th largest export market, and 13th largest trading partner overall.
• According to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade:
  • Canada’s Exports to India was US$2.39 Billion during 2021; and 
  • India’s Exports to Canada was US$3.56 Billion during the same period.
• Canada and India are working toward a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and a Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement.
  • India is also negotiating the Early Progress Trade Agreement (EPTA), ahead of a CEPA.
• Canadian Pension Funds have invested around US$ 32.6 billion in India till 2020. 
  • Pension Funds and other major investment firms have pledged portfolio investments of over US$ 50 billion in India.

 

India-Canada: Development cooperation

• After 55 years of bilateral programming in India totaling $2.39 billion, Canada’s bilateral development assistance program came to an end in 2006.
  • This was following a change in Indian government policy regarding aid.
• Canada supports various projects in India via Grand Challenges Canada. 
  • The main programming sector of the Partnerships for Development Innovation Branch is maternal, newborn and child health, which includes support to early childhood development.

 

India-Canada: Nuclear Cooperation

• Canadian aid to India in the nuclear field begun in 1956. However, this relationship deteriorated in 1974 after India conducted Smiling Buddha nuclear test.
  • Canada was among the first countries to participate in India's nuclear power program.
  • CIRUS, the first research reactor to be built in India, was built with the help of Canada.
• Later, in June 2010, the nuclear cooperation was restored when a Nuclear Cooperation Agreement (NCA) with Canada was signed.

 

India-Canada: Science and Technology Cooperation

• Canada was a partner country for the Technology Summit 2017.
• Department of Biotechnology under IC-IMPACTS program implements joint research projects in health care, agri-biotech and waste management.
• Department of Earth Science and Polar Canada have started a programme for exchange of knowledge and scientific research on Cold Climate (Arctic) Studies.

 

India-Canada: Cooperation in Space

• ANTRIX, the Commercial arm of ISRO, has launched several nanosatellites from Canada. 
• ISRO in its 100th Satellite PSLV launched on 12 January 2018, also flew Canadian first LEO satellite.

 

India-Canada: Cooperation in Indo-Pacific

• In November 2022, Canada’s Indo-Pacific strategy was released.
  • Canada, 20 per cent of whose population originates in the Indo-Pacific region, is the last G7 nation to embrace the concept of the Indo-Pacific.
• The Canadian strategy document contains sharp words on China’s coercive challenge to the international rules-based order and on human rights.
• On the other hand, this document highlights India’s strategic importance and asked Canada to work closely with India.

 

India-Canada People-to-People Connect

• Canada hosts one of the largest Indian diasporas in the world, numbering 1.6 million (PIOs and NRIs) which account for more than 4% of its total population.
  • In the field of politics, in particular, the present House of Commons (total strength of 338) has 22 Members of Parliament of Indian-origin.
• For the first time, Canada Post and India Post joined hands to issue a commemorative stamp on Diwali in 2017. Diwali has been celebrated on the Parliament Hill for the last 18 years.

 

What are the challenges in India-Canada Relations?

• Separatist Khalistani groups
  • Canada has been providing a safe haven for separatist Khalistani groups, which New Delhi sees as the Liberal Party’s pandering to these groups for votes.
    • Diaspora Sikhs are well represented in the Trudeau government. Some of them are politically supported by pro-Khalistan groups.
    • Jagmeet ‘Jimmy’ Dhaliwal, whose New Democratic Party supports Trudeau’s minority government in Parliament, is viewed with suspicion by the Indian establishment.
  • Last year, New Delhi objected to Canada permitting a Khalistani secessionist “referendum” in the Sikh diaspora.
• Canada is slow to act against anti-India elements on its soil
  • Recently, a Hindu temple near Toronto was vandalised and defaced with anti-India graffiti. 
  • Concerns that Canada is slow to act against anti-India elements on its soil have been a constant irritant in the relationship.
• Other irritants include
  • Attacks on Indian-origin people; 
  • Canadian comments over India’s farmer protests and India’s cancellation of diplomatic talks in response.

 

Conclusion

• Both countries seem to realise that any attempt to reset bilateral ties will need to surmount Canada’s vote-bank restraints and India’s security concerns.
• Canada’s Indo-Pacific strategy emphasised India’s strategic importance. 
• It offers a wider staging ground for the two to come together, based on a shared suspicion of China, and seeking to expand trade ties, invest in supply chain resilience.

 

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Q1) Who was the first East Indian in Canada?

The very first Indians to visit Canada were part of a Sikh military contingent traveling through British Columbia on the way to Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee celebrations that year in London. A second group of Sikh soldiers visited in 1902 on the way to Edward VII's coronation.

 

Q2) What are the top 5 Canadian lakes?

Aside from the ascents and descents, Canada is also world-famous for its lakes with five, in particular (Erie, Superior, Huron, Ontario and Michigan), making up what is commonly known as the country's Great Lakes system.

 

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Source: India, Canada FMs discuss reset in ties with Indo-Pacific strategy  |  MEA  |  Government of Canada