Ng postpones 'Team Canada' trade mission to India amid strained relations
CTV
Canada is postponing a trade mission to India that federal Trade Minister Mary Ng had spent the past four months promoting as key to the Indo-Pacific strategy.
Canada is postponing a trade mission to India that federal Trade Minister Mary Ng had spent the past four months promoting as key to the government's Indo-Pacific strategy.
"At this time, we are postponing the upcoming trade mission to India," Ng's spokeswoman Shanti Cosentino wrote.
Ng was set to visit Mumbai on Oct. 9 with Canadian business leaders to form ties with their counterparts in the world's most populous country, for a five-day trip known as a "Team Canada" trade mission.
Ng's office would not explain why the trip has been postponed nor when it is likely to occur, when asked by The Canadian Press. She was not made available for an interview.
The move comes after Canada paused negotiations for a trade deal with India, and relations between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his counterpart in New Delhi were frosty on a recent visit.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Trudeau on the sidelines of the G20 leaders' summit last weekend, and Modi's office said he focused on Sikh separatists in Canada. Trudeau told reporters ahead of his arrival in India that he would be raising concerns about India's foreign interference in Canada.
India's envoy to Canada revealed two weeks ago that Ottawa had paused the trade talks, and to date neither country has provided a detailed explanation.
