NEW DELHI/TORONTO (TIP): Energy ministers of India and Canada have reaffirmed the immense importance that energy security and diversity of supply have in the safety, well-being, and economic vitality of both countries. They held a bilateral meeting last week and launched the renewed Canada-India Ministerial Energy Dialogue.
Indian Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas of India, Hardeep Singh Puri, and Canadian Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Timothy Hodgson, participated in India Energy Week 2026 (IEW’26) in Goa, marking the first high-level participation of a Canadian Cabinet Minister at IEW.
The Goa meeting was a follow-up to the direction provided by the prime ministers of the two countries during their interaction on the sidelines of the G7 Summit, held in June 2025 in Kananaskis, where they underscored the importance of restarting senior ministerial as well as working-level engagements.
Natural Resources Canada and India’s Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas recognized the complementary nature of their energy sectors and the mutual value to be gained from sustained engagement on energy matters.
Canada has stated its goal of becoming an energy superpower in clean and conventional energy, with export diversification as a priority, while India, as the epicenter of the global energy landscape, offers a natural and symbiotic partnership grounded in scale, stability, and long-term opportunity.
Canada has current and emerging liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects, is increasing production and exports of crude oil to markets in Asia via the Trans Mountain Expansion (TMX) Pipeline, and is advancing liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) exports to Asia via the west coast of Canada. At the same time, India, being the world’s third largest oil consumer, fourth largest LNG importer, third largest LPG consumer, and having the fourth largest refining capacity, is projected to remain at the center of the global energy landscape, accounting for over one-third of the growth in global energy demand over the next two decades, the largest contribution by any country.
Even efforts are underway in India to substantially scale up domestic oil production, significantly expand refining capacity, and increase the use of natural gas in the energy mix. Thus, India and Canada have significant potential to emerge as strong collaborators in the area of energy fuels. In this context, the ministers affirm to deepen bilateral energy trade, including the supply of Canadian LNG, LPG, and crude oil to India and the supply of refined petroleum products from India to Canada.
The ministers recognize the importance of joint commercial and investment partnerships in each other’s energy sector. Canada is acting quickly to build energy projects and supply products to international markets, with Asia as a priority region. In 2025, the Government of Canada launched the Major Projects Office and announced the acceleration of several energy and resource projects and strategies, representing more than $116 billion in investments.
India is also investing heavily in its own energy supply and prosperity. India highlighted the various policy reforms undertaken, including the huge investment opportunity of US$ 500 billion in the overall value chain of the energy sector. Recognizing this, the ministers agreed to deepen long-term partnerships aimed at facilitating increased reciprocal investment in the Canadian and Indian energy sectors.
The ministers also recognized the importance of climate-related objectives. This includes efforts to reduce emissions in conventional energy value chains, including through carbon capture utilization and storage, and support for the development and deployment of cleaner technologies as energy demand grows. Recognizing that there exists a huge potential for cooperation in clean energy value chains, the ministers noted the opportunities for collaboration in renewable energy, including hydrogen, biofuels, and sustainable aviation fuel; battery storage; critical minerals; clean technologies; electricity systems; energy supply chain resilience; and the application of artificial intelligence in the energy sector.
The ministers noted the ongoing collaborative efforts to advance the global energy transition via the global development and deployment of biofuels through the Global Biofuels Alliance (GBA), where Canada is an observer.
Building on the deliberations, both sides affirm:
The importance of energy security and diverse energy supply chains. Canada, as a safe, secure, and reliable supplier, and India, as a major consumer, can act in partnership to deepen trade and ensure stable and secure energy supplies. Canada and India will collaborate to promote and strengthen cooperation across trade in the energy sector, including services.
Their commitment to continued government-to-government dialogue and cooperation, such as through the Canada-India Ministerial Energy Dialogue, and regular and ongoing expert collaboration.
The intention is to work in partnership to support meaningful business-to-business, or business-to-government, collaboration across the value chain.
Their mutual intent is to continue supporting work through bilateral and multilateral mechanisms, as well as with industry partners, to support climate objectives for the benefit of the global community.
(Prabhjot Singh is a Toronto-based Senior Journalist. He can be reached at prabhjot416@gmail.com)
Be the first to comment