India and Canada on Monday launched negotiations for the comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA), indicating the strengthening of trade relations between the two nations.Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and Canada’s Minister of International Trade Maninder Sidhu signed the terms of reference (ToR) for the agreement in the presence of PM Narendra Modi and his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney.During the meeting, Modi said the aim was to expand the bilateral trade to US$50 billion (CAD 70 billion) by 2030. The priority is to unlock the full potential of economic cooperation, for which India and Canada have decided to finalise the CEPA soon.Canada represents a market of 41.65 million people (2025) and US$ 2.34 trillion in terms of GDP at PPP. The India–Canada bilateral trade stood at US$8.66 billion in FY 2024-25.Key Indian exports to Canada include drugs & pharmaceuticals, iron & steel, seafood, cotton garments, electronic goods and chemicals among others. The key imports include pulses, pearls & semiprecious stones, coal, fertilizer, paper and petroleum crude.The key sectors of India’s services exports to Canada include telecommunications, computer and information services, and several businesses. Canada is also home to over 4.25 lakh Indian students and a strong Indian community.