TORONTO (TIP): Riding a wave of quick return to normalcy in bilateral relations following the successful exchange of recent ministerial visits, it is time for the business, trade, and industry of both India and Canada to work on new agreements, partnerships, and investments to carry this momentum forward for the overall benefit of the people of the two closely knit nations. This was the gist of the message from the leaders of trade, industry, business, and diplomacy at an event here on Monday, November 17, to announce the launch of the second Trade Mission of the Canadian Hindu Chamber of Commerce.
And when the second Trade Mission embarks on its visit to India in the first week of the New Year, it will have a plethora of avenues and opportunities in technology and innovation, education and skill development, energy, small business, and MSME ecosystems to explore.
When the first 33-member mission returned home after a successful sojourn in India, Nepal, and Bangladesh in 2023, during which it visited 16 cities, it had signed several memoranda of understanding in certain niche areas, including ayurveda, diamonds, and jewelry. The time is ripe now for the second mission to carry forward the good groundwork already done and explore further new areas.
The Chamber, which has established itself as one of Canada’s most active business organizations, with over a thousand members, in advancing international and inter-provincial engagement, the 2026 mission will be led by its president, Kushagr Dutt Sharma; trade mission chair, Dr. Rakesh Kantaria; India-Canada Trade Committee chair, Hemant M. Shah; and the 2026 Trade Mission co-chair, Amit Chowdhary.
The current leadership team that has been guiding the Chamber’s growing portfolio of global outreach has successfully executed multiple international trade missions, along with inter-provincial business delegations across Canada, connecting entrepreneurs, investors, and institutions across sectors and regions, says Kushagr Sharma.
The Canadian Hindu Chamber of Commerce also holds its annual Invest India–Invest Canada Business Summit, which has been acting as a bilateral forum uniting policymakers, industry leaders, and high-growth enterprises from both nations to accelerate trade and investment partnerships.
The launch event also saw the presence of senior officials of the ICICI Bank Canada, including its Chairman, Mr Himadari, who promised all support to the Mission. Also present was Deepak Anand, Member of Provincial Parliament, who divulged that though Ontario was celebrating Hindu Heritage Month, it was a unique land that was represented by more than 100 communities, ethnicities, and religious backgrounds working for a common motive of making Canada their home.
India’s acting Consul-General in Toronto, Kapidhwaja Partap Singh, said that there was a tremendous potential for the bilateral trade to grow. He talked about health care, education, pharmaceuticals and resources, saying that with the changed immigration policy, India could be a source for supplying the skilled manpower that Canada wants to import now.
He said that three ministerial visits within a week reflect the huge potential. India will be working on a mechanism to capture knowledge for taking the initiatives in an executable way forward. He also talked about the Surat jewelry mission’s Canadian visit. India, he said, could also benefit from the Canadian expertise in mining, besides realigning its student force to meet the skilled workforce requirement of Canada. The Consul-General was expecting many more exchanges of such visits. He also announced that India was almost giving 100 percent clearance to medical visas, provided the applicants are annexing a letter from the hospital and the medical authorities concerned.
The second mission will engage with prominent industry bodies, business chambers, and regional partners across Assam—which has great potential for energy in which Canada holds the expertise—Uttar Pradesh, Chandigarh (Punjab and Haryana), Delhi, and Himachal Pradesh.
The objectives of the mission, according to Kushagr Dutt Sharma, are to strengthen Canada-India bilateral business cooperation; connect Canadian businesses with regional industry leaders and chambers; and explore sectoral opportunities in energy, electronics manufacturing, the information technology sector, and pharmaceuticals.
He even referred to how Canada was investing its huge pension fund in India.
A video message from Mr Hemant Shah, who, in recognition of his long services in promoting India-Canada trade, has been named Chair of the Free Trade Development Committee of the Chamber, also talked about the tremendous potential for furthering the bilateral trade.
Rakesh Kantaria, Maharishi Jani, and Rajan Sharda of ICICI Bank were among other speakers at the event.
(Prabhjot Singh is a Toronto-based senior journalist)