Piyush Goyal meets Canada’s top CEOs to deepen India investment push

Rapidly expanding India's global investment footprint, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal concluded a series of one-on-one meetings with Canada’s top corporate chieftains in Toronto.

The bilateral marathons focused squarely on securing multi-billion-dollar commitments in infrastructure, financial services, sustainable food chains, and critical tech minerals.

Goyal’s schedule featured discussions with the leaders of Canada’s largest banking, insurance, and asset management institutions.

Goyal held detailed discussions with Chairman & CEO V Prem Watsa to evaluate the firm's deep, existing footprints in India, including major stakes in Bengaluru International Airport, and mapped out aggressive new avenues for collaboration across manufacturing, logistics, and clean energy.

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The Minister met independently with Sun Life President & CEO Kevin Strain and Manulife Financial Corporation chief Phil Witherington. The conversations targeted expanding investments in healthcare financing, retirement solutions, and broadening insurance access within India’s fast-evolving financial services ecosystem.

In his bilateral sit-down with Raymond Chun, President & CEO of TD Bank Group, Goyal pitched India's hyper-advanced Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), exploring tech integrations across retail banking, fintech, and digital payments to ease cross-border capital flows.

Shifting gears from high finance to industrial manufacturing, the Minister secured operational commitments to insulate Indian supply chains from global geopolitical shocks.

Meeting with President & CEO Max Koeune of Mccain Foods, Goyal reviewed the brand's expansive sourcing network in India, which partners directly with thousands of local potato farmers. The two explored upgrading cold-chain infrastructure, modernising food processing, and scaling up production to position India as a key food-processing export hub for Asia.

In a highly strategic meeting with CEO Rahim Suleman, Goyal explored critical minerals and rare earth element processing. The framework addresses secure, reliable sourcing of advanced materials vital for India's domestic electric vehicle (EV), semiconductor, and aerospace manufacturing sectors.

'The ultimate bridge'

Following his boardroom meetings, Minister Goyal addressed a vibrant reception honouring the Indian diaspora in Canada. Speaking to a packed audience of entrepreneurs, professionals, and community leaders, the Minister described the diaspora as the "ultimate organic bridge" fostering trust between the two democracies.

Goyal praised the community for showcasing India’s core values of hard work and inclusivity, noting that their entrepreneurial success forms the foundational soft power that allows the Indian government to negotiate high-level economic pacts like the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (Cepa).

"The trust our businesses have in one another is mirrored perfectly by the respect the Indian diaspora has earned here in Canada," Goyal stated.