Canada’s foreign policy is seeing a dramatic reset this October as Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand embarks on a whirlwind three-country tour through India, China, and Singapore. Her journey, which began in New Delhi on Sunday, October 12, 2025, marks her first official visit to India since assuming the foreign minister post in May. The stakes are high: Anand’s mission is not only to mend frayed diplomatic ties but also to navigate the choppy waters of international trade disputes, security concerns, and shifting alliances.
Minister Anand’s arrival in India comes at a pivotal moment. According to The Hindu, her visit is expected to focus on establishing a framework for bilateral strategic cooperation in key areas such as trade, energy, and security. She is meeting with her Indian counterpart, S. Jaishankar, on Monday, October 13, 2025, and will also hold talks with Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal to discuss ways to boost two-way trade ties. In Mumbai, Anand plans to engage with Canadian and Indian firms to support investment and job creation—a signal that economic opportunity is a top priority for both nations.
This renewed diplomatic push follows months of tension between Canada and India, largely stemming from the 2023 assassination of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, British Columbia. The incident led then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to publicly allege Indian government involvement, a claim that India dismissed as “absurd.” The fallout was swift and severe: India recalled its high commissioner and five other diplomats in October 2024 after Ottawa attempted to link them to the Nijjar case, and Canada responded in kind by expelling Indian diplomats.
Yet, the winds of change began to blow after Liberal Party leader Mark Carney’s victory in the April 2025 parliamentary election. Both countries have since posted high commissioners in each other's capitals, and as The Hindu reports, they have agreed to revive several mechanisms to advance relations across a range of fields. The thaw was further reflected in the late September 2025 visit of Canada’s National Security Advisor Nathalie Drouin to India, where she held extensive talks with her Indian counterpart Ajit Doval. Soon after, Canada designated the Lawrence Bishnoi gang as a terrorist entity, citing its role in “violently targeting” communities and creating a “climate of fear and intimidation.”
Minister Anand’s current trip is part of a broader Canadian effort to recalibrate its foreign policy in Asia. After India, Anand is scheduled to travel to China, where she will meet with Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing. The timing could not be more sensitive. As The Globe and Mail reports, Anand’s visit to China is part of an effort to mend fences amid a painful trade war with Beijing and to stabilize the relationship after years of escalating tariffs and diplomatic spats. Her visit also coincides with the 55th anniversary of Canada-China diplomatic ties—a symbolic milestone that both countries are keen to acknowledge, even as they grapple with profound disagreements.
The trade conflict between Ottawa and Beijing has become particularly acute in recent months. In August 2025, China imposed a staggering 75.8-percent duty on Canadian canola seed, a major export for the prairie provinces, in retaliation for Ottawa’s 100-percent tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and 25-percent levies on Chinese steel and aluminum introduced in 2024. These steps were themselves a response to what Canada and the United States described as deliberate overproduction by China, intended to safeguard the integrated North American auto sector. Beijing’s latest move came on top of a 100-percent tariff on Canadian canola oil, canola meal, and peas imposed in March, and a 25-percent tariff on Canadian seafood and pork products.
The economic pain is being felt acutely in Western Canada. Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew wrote to Prime Minister Carney on October 11, 2025, urging him to scrap Canada’s EV tariffs in exchange for China lifting its own punitive duties on canola and pork. “Although I believe protecting Canada’s vehicle industry is important, the country’s approach has created a two-front trade war that disproportionally affects Western Canada,” Kinew wrote, according to The Globe and Mail.
Amid these tensions, officials in both Ottawa and Beijing are working to arrange a high-stakes meeting between Prime Minister Carney and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Both leaders are expected to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) forum in South Korea in late October, and a bilateral meeting could mark a turning point in Canada-China relations. Carney, who met Chinese Premier Li Qiang on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York this September, has signaled a pragmatic approach. Speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations, he remarked that China is “very sincere and engaged” on climate change because it’s “a country run by engineers.” Carney outlined a possible roadmap for cooperation, suggesting Canada could “engage deeply” with China on commodities, energy, and basic manufacturing, while keeping sensitive areas like national security and privacy off the table.
Foreign Affairs Minister Anand echoed this cautious optimism in an interview Friday, stating, “We need to stabilize the relationship,” and adding that her goal is “to build the bridge, open the dialogue, ensure that Canada can interact with China in a way that puts the interests of our workers and our businesses and our industries first.”
Yet, the path forward is fraught with challenges. Canada-China relations took a nosedive after Ottawa arrested Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in 2018 at the request of the United States, prompting Beijing to detain two Canadians in what former Trudeau cabinet ministers described as “hostage diplomacy.” The two countries have also clashed over a host of issues, including Hong Kong’s civil rights, Taiwan, the treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang, and China’s sovereignty claims in the South China Sea.
Vina Nadjibulla, vice-president of research and strategy at the Asia Pacific Foundation, told The Globe and Mail that while selling more agricultural products and energy to China makes sense, Ottawa cannot make concessions that compromise Canadian national security or economic interests. “I think we shouldn’t underestimate the degree to which China is interested in bringing us into their Belt and Road initiative,” she observed, referring to Beijing’s global infrastructure and trade strategy.
Anand’s tour will conclude in Singapore, where she is scheduled to meet Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan. Singapore is described by Canadian officials as “one of its most important partners” in Southeast Asia, and Anand’s visit aims to further strengthen cooperation in the region.
As Canada navigates these complex diplomatic waters, the Carney government is clearly signaling a shift toward a more engaged, pragmatic, and multi-faceted foreign policy in Asia. Whether these efforts will yield a lasting reset—or simply a temporary thaw—remains to be seen. But for now, the world is watching closely as Canada tries to balance its economic ambitions, security concerns, and values on the global stage.
