Mark Carney’s ascent as Canada’s Prime Minister has set in motion a potential realignment of the country’s foreign policy, with early overtures to both Washington and New Delhi. On his first full day in office, Carney spoke with US President Donald Trump and spoke of the need to rebuild ties with India — a relationship that had collapsed under former PM Justin Trudeau. “I’m most useful in a crisis,” he was recently quoted as saying.
The Prime Minister’s Office said Carney and Trump discussed strengthening the economic and security partnership as independent, sovereign nations, and agreed to meet soon. Carney stressed that while the US was a key partner, Canada had other options to build its prosperity.
India, too, featured prominently in Carney’s early foreign policy messaging. During his campaign, he had identified rebuilding ties with India as a priority, calling for diversification of trade and deeper alignment on shared values.
Relations between India and Canada strained two years ago when Trudeau accused “Indian agents” of being involved in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, British Columbia. India denied the allegations and last year both the countries had expelled top diplomats, frozen trade negotiations, and suspended bilateral visits.
Carney, who took office on March 14 after winning the Liberal leadership, distanced himself from Trudeau throughout his campaign — including scrapping the controversial carbon tax.
Carney’s ties to India also run deep. He previously served on the board of Brookfield Asset Management, which manages about $29 billion in assets in India. As of December 2024, his stock options in the firm were valued at $6.8 million, according to Bloomberg. In 2017, he visited India as part of a UK delegation, meeting Indian industry leaders including Anand Mahindra, who later praised Carney’s intellect and candour.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Carney on X, expressing hope for a stronger partnership rooted in shared democratic values. Carney, for his part, has said Canada will look to rebuild its relationship with India based on shared values and commercial opportunity.
Whether he can balance Trump’s unpredictability with a renewed India strategy remains to be seen, but the stage has been set for a significant diplomatic reset.
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