With Canadian prime minister Mark Carney in India, some home truths are needed. That is for Carney to establish to Indians that he is well beyond being even just a smarter economic talker, but still near imitator to his fellow Liberal party predecessor, Justin Trudeau who he well complimented as he replaced him. And is not with too much, even if more limited, corrosive, unqualified rhetoric on Redlines. That is on Khalistan, minority issues and playing to Opposition propaganda. That is not trying at any time in his visit to overly push western values and a trade deal that does not meet enough Indian interests.
The good news is that Carney understands real economies and the world, even if it is sometimes overly looked at from a globalist vision attached to his once being a bigwig at Global Sucks. A huge, powerful Wall Street investment firm, some of whose executives (not all) massively ripped off the Malaysian government of billions of dollars. (GS under new leadership has repented to be fair.)
Carney, though is being so battered on trade and sovereignty issues by US president Donald Trump that pressure to get a deal with other countries, like mega-market India is near supreme. Not to forget “Under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Canada has experienced historically low per-person GDP growth, with some analyses calling it the weakest in recent history. Key indicators show stagnant productivity, declining business investment, and negative GDP per capita for eight of the last nine quarters,” (Google AI) Therefore, and with India’s own trade diversification strategy, New Delhi knows it holds cards in welcoming Carney. That is at least a Carney that does not have a hint of what Justin Trudeau tried to do unjustly and arrogantly to Bharat and Bharat pride. And now needed more than ever for a Carney to play a key part to get India-Canada relations back on track as during most of the pre-Trudeau years.
It cannot be also forgotten that Canada is not only in a medium-long term economic crisis, including on housing and a very negative unemployment rate compared to the US one. This was even before Donald Trump as president elect said he insisted he wanted to take over the country and make it the 51st state. Though, he promised not to treat it with a military invasion (yet?) like he did with Venezuela and promised at one time with Europe’s Greenland. What a relief?
That crisis in Canada is so profound now under Trump pressure to make Canada’s economy scream. That it was even admitted by its current Canadian central bank governor essentially that the country is in an economic crisis. So Canada is in no position to play hard ball in bargaining with New Delhi on a Canada/India trade deal. A framework likely accomplished at best at the current stage.
Furthermore, Carney can not vocally play his leading anti-Trump position to Europeans and sell his being “top of this heap” to impress Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The India PM has better ideas of rightfully prioritizing making a trade deal with the US, and keeping friendly where possible with the US as he has successfully done. He knows a “live-in” with Carney is not an asset plus for India. The PM, a true global leader is on no mission to be a Lilliputian to try “economic suicide” to pretend he can heroically the up Trump America, economically or politically as a tag team duo with the Canadian PM. Liking spiritually well something is highly positive. But living in Lilliputian fairy tales geopolitically can get one a stagnant economy. For India it is no merit to Carney’s seemingly virulent anti-Trumpism.
India, as well is no US colony or near colony. That is not with constant reflex worry to Washington. That is even with expresses opposition to hegemony from time to time that all of sudden Carney at the 2026 Davos Forum had expressed even culpable for never stating it before. Contrasting, Mr. Modi has expressed for years these concerns about these dominating forces. It is that kind of geopolitical genuflecting, insincerity and double talk from the West that the Global South has had enough of. What sometimes seems as too often a selfish, inward looking West that just takes the supposed law based order as a buffet to take what is convenient to it. While even clouding global justice. Canada is guilty of this than less so than others, thankfully.
Carney with an overall solid understanding of business as an “accomplished” ex central banker (England and Canada), is more knowledgeable in government related financial issues than his predecessor who came off more as a dilettante and amateur on economics and international relations. As well, the current PM was Chairman Brookfield’s one trillion dollar fund connected in part to Stephen Bronfman (former lead advisor to Justin Trudeau), Abe Carney, indeed was ex Managing Director of the prominent Goldman Sachs investment bank. Finally as a badge of merit? But he needs to ensure his Wall Street mentors and still connections to Trade suites do not impact him to be overall aggressive with India in trying to make deals.
What might India import to Canada and Carney on his visit.
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Pragmatism and steady hand approach than overly defiant chip on the shoulder reaction to even the hardest nose statements and approaches by Trump?
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Diversity, yes but not over wokism, political correctness playing excessively to vote banks. Outcomes count not overly playing to DEI diversity. Yet sensitive to all citizens. The Modi government looks to putting the most competent people in position Carney as in Goldman Sachs managing director may better understand this than his predecessor, Trudeau?
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Made in India and growth oriented politics simultaneously has been the Modi-led government policy for many years. Canada needs to catch up on this and has been too much a branch subsidiary state to America structurally, albeit somewhat understandable as it has a long border with this US behemoth.
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A more investment friendly environment including more welcoming attitudes to foreign investors be it from India and others from the Global South. That includes a less restrictive visa policy to Indians as a whole.
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A stronger effort to approach India and the Global South more seriously at all levels of cooperation, especially on trade and investment. For India, the Global South is seen as a critical part of fashioning a new positive world order. Where has Canada been on this? The United Kingdom under King Charles, King of Canada (too) is not everything that makes Canada so unique and independent. Including to many immigrants to Canada. Canada with its large immigrant population from the South, including a significant Indian diaspora in deed wants a sustained independent Canada. Being eurocentric is not in Canada’s future in the Global South and Asian century. If Carney seems to over celebrate British royalty, culture and connections with the UK it makes one wonder: Focus should be to Asia more and the Global South. He may be making somewhat of a pivot to Asia, recently. Good. On a major last point inherently. I had many US Wall Street investment bankers, bosses but pirating. In previous articles I have talked about India needing to be prudent in its partnerships, with Wall Street finance, expanding its financial footprint in Bharat. Carney coming to India should make Indians more interested in the more prudent, yet sizeable Canadian banking sector that avoided disastrous risky investments that tore up Wall Street in 2008.
Prime Minister Modi has had a booming economy and better managed relations with the Trump administration. India may be far from fully perfect in areas of youth unemployment and levels of poverty. But it has a clear plan it is implementing with both a sense of realism, pragmatism and results with energy in its strategy about the future to meet its challenges and in a short decade or so to become a fully developed country. And not to go backwards in development and not to be involved in or supporting unnecessary war. Meanwhile Canada looks too worrying about pressures to be taken over and squashed by Trump. It should instead more focus on what it can learn from and what to do with the Global South like India. That is in generating forward momentum. That should be a main aim by Carney in his visit to India besides a trade deal. Canada also has a lot to offer as a country bountiful in natural resources, including metals like precious gold. And with one of the most educated and a skilled workforce as including a major Indian-Canadian dimension. There is every reason with Carney turning a new leaf that much better relations and outcomes will come from a India that traditionally with a few exceptions has had warm feelings to its fellow democratic Commonwealth leader.
Peter Dash is a proud Canadian citizen, and writes extensively on geopolitics. He has visited India which he finds fascinating and much of the Global South.
