As we reported earlier, Carney's visit to India began last week in Mumbai where he attended the Canada-India Growth and Investment Forum. On Sunday evening, he and his wife, Diana Fox Carney, landed in Delhi, where they were welcomed by Indian officials and defence personnel.

One notable omission on Carney’s trip is Punjab state, where the majority of India’s Sikhs live.

Sikhism was founded in the 16th Century in the Punjab region, which now spans parts of India and Pakistan.

Former prime ministers Justin Trudeau and Stephen Harper both included Punjab in their India itineraries, visiting the Golden Temple - the holiest site in Sikhism - and meeting local leaders.

Canada has the world's second largest population of Sikhs in the world and they are a key vote bank in the country. In Trudeau's first term as prime minister, he had four ministers from the Sikh community.

Carney’s trip is instead focused on meetings in Mumbai and Delhi.

A Canadian government official said in a recent briefing that there wasn’t time on the trip to visit Punjab, especially as the focus was on trade.

Carney’s government has been keen to re-build trade ties with India as it seeks to strengthen non-US alliances.

Days before the visit, Canada said it believed India was not currently linked to violent crimes or threats on Canadian soil - a shift in tone after accusing Delhi of carrying out an extrajudicial killing of a Sikh separatist in Canada in 2023.

This has drawn criticism from some Sikh activists in Canada, who allege that they continue to face threats from India over their demands for a separate homeland called Khalistan.

India has repeatedly denied any involvement in transnational repression.

Ahead of Carney’s visit, Sikh activist Moninder Singh told the Toronto Star newspaper that the Canadian police had warned him of a “credible threat” to his and his family’s life that he suspects is linked to the Indian government. India has not commented on this.

Referencing Singh’s comment in a statement, the Sikh Federation (UK) said that Carney’s credibility would be at stake “if he fails to address the growing challenge of transnational repression and promotion of violent crime by the Indian government on Canadian soil”.

Soutik Biswas
India Correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

Carney’s visit is expected to focus more on diplomacy than on delivering major economic breakthroughs, though Canada hopes to lay groundwork for longer-term trade and investment ties.

Ottawa has been seeking to diversify its trading partners as relations with the United States grow uncertain, and India’s huge market is seen as a potential destination for Canadian petroleum, natural gas and other exports.

However, analysts say building deeper economic links will require overcoming lingering diplomatic tensions and concerns over export costs.

The trip also aims to consolidate a thaw after the 2023 diplomatic freeze triggered by allegations of Indian involvement in the killing of a Sikh separatist leader in Canada, which Delhi denies.

Nadine Yousif
Reporting from Toronto

For the better part of the last 15 years, Canada and India have been engaged in on-and-off talks on establishing a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between the two countries.

Those talks have not yielded many results, and were effectively halted after Ottawa’s bombshell allegation accusing India of carrying out a murder on Canadian soil in 2023.

But analysts believe the global landscape and priorities have changed over the last year — so much so that a robust trade agreement between Canada and India could be on the horizon.

In the two-year recent diplomatic freeze between Canada and India, Delhi has managed to reach agreements with several countries, including the UK and the European Union.

It also has agreed on a framework for a deal with the US.

“Canada finds itself in a situation where it is the only G7 country without a preferential trade agreement with India,” Vina Nadjibulla, vice-president of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, tells the BBC.

At the same time, India has shifted its policy and opened its doors for these types of comprehensive deals in recent months, which has provided “a window of opportunity,” Nadjibulla says.

“This is a new moment,” she adds. “And there is an appetite on both sides.”

Carney’s visit is also being seen as part of a broader effort to deepen Ottawa’s engagement in the Indo-Pacific - a region Canada considers central to its long-term economic and security interests.

Under its 2022 Indo-Pacific strategy, Canada pledged billions of dollars to expand trade, strengthen supply chains and build closer defence and diplomatic ties across Asia, as it looks to diversify economic partnerships.

And India - the world’s most populous country and one of the fastest-growing major economies - is viewed as a key partner in that effort.

Given the recent diplomatic strains between the two countries, the trip, analysts say, will be an attempt to stabilise ties while advancing cooperation in areas such as clean energy and critical minerals.

Image source, Getty Images

Analysts will be watching closely for any announcements related to trade and investment.

India’s Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said last week that India is hoping to start talks on a free trade agreement with Canada during Carney’s visit.

Last November, the countries agreed to restart stalled trade talks after Modi and Carney met on the sidelines of a G20 summit in South Africa.

Both countries have been targeted by Donald Trump’s tariffs and Carney has made it clear that he wants to strengthen Canada’s relationship with countries other than the US.

India, which has signed several trade agreements recently, will be looking to strike deals on energy, as it tries to diversify its portfolio due to Trump’s pressure to stop buying Russian oil.

Image source, Getty Images

Hardeep Singh Nijjar was a Sikh separatist leader whose killing in June 2023 sparked a major diplomatic row between Canada and India.

Born in Punjab, India, he moved to Canada in the mid-1990s and became a Canadian citizen. He became known for supporting the Khalistan movement, which calls for an independent Sikh homeland in India - a cause strongly opposed by the Indian government.

On 18 June 2023, Nijjar was shot dead outside a Sikh temple. Months after his death, then Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government accused India of being linked to his killing, a claim an angry Delhi called “absurd”.

The allegations led to a prolonged diplomatic dispute, including the expulsion of diplomats, and heightened tensions between Ottawa and Delhi.

The relationship seems to be getting back on track after Carney came to power. The trial of four Indian nationals accused of killing Nijjar is set to begin soon.

Soutik Biswas
India Correspondent

Mark Carney’s visit is expected to test efforts to reset strained bilateral ties following diplomatic tensions over allegations linking Delhi to the 2023 killing of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada - accusations India has strongly rejected.

Ottawa has since softened its tone, saying it believes India is not currently linked to violent crimes on Canadian soil.

Under Carney, Canada has sought to rebuild engagement with India amid tariff pressure from its largest trading partner, the United States, and growing strategic uncertainty.

Conversations between the two countries have continued on foreign interference and national security concerns, while both sides have signalled interest in restoring political trust.

Carney has previously met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the G7 summit, and foreign ministers from both countries have also held talks.

A long-term goal is to revive negotiations toward a comprehensive trade agreement, though deep political sensitivities continue to shadow the reset.

Image source, Getty Images

Carney’s first trip to India is also the first visit by a Canadian prime minister since Delhi’s ties with Ottawa nosedived in 2023, after then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced in parliament that there were “credible allegations” linking India to the killing of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

India vehemently denied the allegations and accused Trudeau’s government of harbouring anti-India terrorists. Relations between the two countries remained strained through Trudeau’s term in office but since his resignation in January last year, India and Canada have been taking steps to rebuild ties.

Ahead of Carney’s visit, a Canadian government official said that Ottawa believes that India is not currently linked to violent crimes or threats on Canadian soil – a shift in tone that has been criticised by some members of Canada's Sikh community.

This is the last day of Carney's trip to India.

Over the weekend, he attended the Canada-India Growth and Investment Forum in India’s financial capital Mumbai.

He reached the capital Delhi on Sunday.

Today, he will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the two leaders will review progress across sectors under the India-Canada strategic partnership, according to India’s foreign ministry.

The leaders will review the India-Canada strategic partnership, take stock of cooperation in trade and investment, and discuss energy, critical minerals, innovation and people-to-people ties, among other issues.

They are also scheduled to attend the India-Canada CEO Forum later in the day.

On Monday evening, Carney will head to Australia for the next leg of his trip.

Hello and welcome to the BBC’s live coverage of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s meeting with Narendra Modi.

The trip which began last week, is being described as “historic” as India and Canada try a reset of relations that have been strained since 2023 when then PM Justin Trudeau said there was "credible evidence" linking India to the killing of a Sikh separatist leader on Canadian soil.

It’s expected to be a busy day and will start with Carney meeting Modi for official talks.

We will be bringing you live updates through the day so do stay with us for the latest news and analysis.