| India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, Hon. Piyush Goyal, addressed the members of Canada India Foundation at an exclusive meeting held at Toronto’s prestigious Albany Club on May 27, 2026. Goyal came to Canada leading a delegation of top Indian business leaders, in what is being described as the “largest ever business delegation to any country from India.” |
 Ritesh Malik, Chair, CIF, welcomed Minister Goyal and conveyed the warm wishes from the members and the larger community on the recent breakthrough in the Canada India bilateral relationship. “Twenty years ago, CIF was founded on a conviction that seemed ambitious at the time: that Canada and India, two great democracies, two dynamic economies, two nations bound by shared values would one day build something extraordinary together. What we have witnessed in the last few months tells us that day is no longer coming. It is here,” he noted. He also thanked Minister Goyal for making a special effort to be with the members of Canada India Foundation and offered CIF’s continued support in strengthening the bilateral. “We are grateful and at the same time feel a great sense of responsibility and we are fully committed to play an important role in realizing this shared vision,” he added. |
| Accompanying Minister Goyal was India’s High Commissioner to Canada, His Excellency Dinesh Patnaik, who complimented Canada India Foundation on its past work in the bilateral space and encouraged CIF to play a coordinating role in building a joint front on behalf of Canada India relationship. There has been a turnaround in less than six months, especially following Prime Minister Carney’s visit to India. He assured the guests that the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) is in very advanced stages and ahead of the deadline set by the Prime Ministers of India and Canada. The final signing, a historic event when it happens, may happen in Canada by the end of this year. He listed a vast range of areas in Canada that will benefit from this relationship, “Every city in this country will benefit from this.” This huge opportunity must be leveraged to its best position by organizations like the CIF that can effectively combine the business and community strengths, he said. He also suggested a novel idea of asking the community to identify ten most urgent questions and throw it open for solutions. Describing it as a ‘hackathon’ he said this would energize businesses faculties, students, community organizations and other experts to get involved and offer solutions to the problems identified as important. “Let us put the ideas together. For example, one idea I would like to see is all the various Indo Canadian organizations to create a common platform to connect and share ideas that may be complimentary to each other. You don’t always have to look to India; there are opportunities right here.” |
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| The meeting with CIF was Minister Goyal’s last assignment in Canada before catching the flight to New York. After a round of successful high-powered meetings in Ottawa and Toronto including one with Prime Minister, Mark Carney, he shared his enthusiasm with the CIF members. The excitement is in both countries, as he noted that his own delegation had 30% of business leaders who have never been on an international mission, and they “come from every corner of India”. “This shows the potential and enthusiasm and the right time for CIF to help enhance the relationship and become a bridge, to invite and excite businesses from India as well as Canada.” Minister spoke of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a developed India by 2047 with a $30 trillion economy and all major steps that are being taken to advance towards that goal. India already has agreements in place with countries that represent 2/3 of the global trade with preferential access to goods and services, making India today a trusted global partner in international trade. Noting the considerable presence of the Indian diaspora in every important area of economics, academics, healthcare and community, Minister Goyal urged, “Time is ripe for this partnership to take wings.” He noted that today there is not a major country in the world where there is not a substantial presence of the Indian diaspora. Going forward, this huge asset of 30 million plus community, including the near three million in Canada, will play an increasing role in shaping trade and commerce. He invited the Indo Canadian community to be fully involved “to see what you can do for people back home. He told the gathering to siege the opportunity in every sector. “Keep your eyes open, to see who an investor could be, who could be a customer for your products and services.” He complimented CIF for its tag line, Democracies Working Together, and asked CIF to build on the work the organization has been engaged in over the past twenty years. “I believe you can act as an apex body to make these strong connections, help the India story reach the people of Canada, get all sections who are in Canada to work together, all of us working as a team. We are at the right time, for really big achievements. Sky is the limit for this relationship,” he said. HC Dinesh Patnaik participated in an interactive Q&A session with the CIF members later. Sanjay Makkar, National Co-convener, CIF, thanked, Minister Piyush Goyal, HC Dinesh Patnaik, all the participants and sponsors. |
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