Optimism grows for Canada-India trade deal at Regina summit

With over half the pulses imported into India coming from Saskatchewan, Premier Scott Moe couldn’t understate the importance of the province’s relationship with the country on Friday.

“India very much is an opportunity for us to not only double that trade but even go further,” he said.

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Dignitaries visited Regina for the second annual Western Canada-India Leaders Summit to work to expand better trade relationships.

It comes as federal leaders continue to work towards the Canada-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), set to be inked by the end of 2026.

Prime Minister Mark Carney and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to double trade to $70 billion by 2030 in March.

The High Commissioner for Canada in India, Christopher Cooter, told the conference room on Friday he had “no doubt” the CEPA deal will happen this year.

Cooter declined to comment to reporters after the event.

A 30 per cent import tariff remains on Canadian yellow peas and a 10 per cent duty on lentils, which Moe hopes is negotiated to zero in the deal.

“Whether they’re in the actual trade deal or not, it would be preferable if they are, however, it’s not a showstopper if they’re not,” he said.

Moe said the relationship between Saskatchewan and India is excellent, and the need for pulses is not going away.

“Low tariff, no tariff, that’s the goal,” he said. “However, that isn’t always where we are in reality.”

President and CEO of the Canada-India Business Council, Victor Thomas, said the deal has been in the making for over a decade, with talks beginning in 2010.

“I would just say that this market is not a five year deal, or a 10 year deal, or 15 year deal,” he said. “There’s a generational moment over the next two decades, and this country has to seize it.”

Dinesh K. Patnaik, the High Commissioner in India to Canada spoke with reporters at the summit on Friday. (Gillian Massie/ 980 CJME)

Dinesh K. Patnaik, the High Commissioner for India in Canada, confirmed yellow pea tariffs are on the negotiation table.

He said he also believes the deal is on the horizon.

“I’m very optimistic,” he said. “We will get an agreement on the 95 per cent of the things.

“We may not get an agreement on 5 per cent of the things. We’ll have to find out imaginative, different ways to do it.”

Patnaik said security concerns are also being discussed after Prime Minister Trudeau accused India in 2023 of playing a part in the role in the death of a Sikh activist in Surrey, B.C.

“Don’t let best be the enemy of good, we want a good agreement,” he said. “The best will come automatically as time goes.”

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