From far and wide – Indian businesses in Canada make inroads
Keen to help Indian businesses in Canada make inroads, the governments of both countries are collaborating to encourage more investment from India, with collaboration from the private sector.
The Indo-Canadian Business Chamber (ICBC) has organized a series of meetings across the country to create connections between Indian companies and their counterparts in Canada, aiming to collaborate across seven areas of business: digitization, infrastructure, defence, clean energy, critical minerals, AI frameworks, and education partnerships. The ICBC has held its first meeting in Ottawa, and its second in Toronto, the latter in collaboration with the Consulate General of India in Toronto, with a focus on financial partnerships, institutional capital, and corporate collaboration.
“This roundtable brought together an exceptional group of leaders from pension funds, technology firms, life sciences, academia, and financial and public institutions to reflect on where the corridor stands—and how it can be strategically scaled,” said the ICBC in a statement. “The message was clear: despite geopolitical complexities, the fundamentals of the India–Canada economic partnership remain strong, resilient, and full of untapped potential.
“There is a shared appetite to build, invest, and innovate. Canada’s institutional capital continues to play a pivotal role in India’s growth story, while Indian corporates are deepening their presence across Canada’s provinces,” added the organization.
In this context, a statement from India’s Consulate General in Toronto said, “the roundtable brought together CEOs and senior executives of leading Indian and Canadian companies, along with prominent incubators and policy think tanks, to explore partnerships, share experiences and offer insights on ways to deepen business relationships between the two economies.”
High-level Canadian presence
Present at the event was Sara Wilshaw, Canada’s Chief Trade Commissioner, who provided key insights on strengthening economic ties between the two countries.
The series of meetings held by ICBC comes just weeks after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney met with his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, on 17 June at the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Kananaskis, Alta.
Advantages for Indian businesses in Canada
Canada is often considered a gateway to businesses looking to set up operations in North America: it has free-trade agreements with the US and Mexico, thanks to CUSMA, and access to over 1.5 billion consumers globally, via other agreements.
With a large and growing Indian diaspora of nearly two million people, there is a strong cultural consumer bridge for Indian businesses in Canada, primarily concentrated in business-friendly areas such as the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, as well as Metro Vancouver.
Canada is ranked as one of the easiest countries in which to start a business, providing organizations with a highly educated, multilingual workforce who work in tech hubs such as Toronto, Waterloo, Vancouver, and Montreal, where governments fund projects in R&D, cleantech, AI, and innovation.