Anand says Canada is prioritizing public safety as it works toward a trade agreement with India 

November 24,2025

RED FM News Desk

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand says Canada remains committed to addressing public safety, transnational repression, and foreign interference as it negotiates a trade agreement with India — a country Ottawa previously distanced itself from after alleging it was involved in the killing of a Sikh activist in Canada. Her remarks come after Canada and India announced Sunday that they have agreed to begin negotiations on a new trade deal. The news followed Prime Minister Mark Carney’s meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, South Africa. 

Anand said Canada is “recalibrating the economic relationship” while ensuring law enforcement agencies continue their work independently. In a social media post Sunday, Carney noted that a trade agreement could double bilateral trade to $70 billion. 

Anand added that the global trade environment has “fundamentally changed” — referring to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff policies — and that Canada must adapt its foreign policy accordingly. India’s High Commissioner to Canada, Dinesh Patnaik, told CBC’s Rosemary Barton Live on Sunday that the two countries have been discussing trade for months. Patnaik said Canada should not set aside its security concerns to strengthen ties with India — just as India doesn’t ignore its own. 

“Both countries are mature enough to understand that we need a relationship where we can talk about keeping people safe,” he said. “Canadians safe on Canadian streets, Indians safe on Indian streets.”