Talent to Drive the Canada-India Strategic Partnership

The newly revitalised strategic partnership between Canada and India has a distinct and powerful engine: human capital. In a move that Prime Minister Mark Carney describes as a strategic shift, both nations are placing talent, education and research innovation at the centre of their bilateral relationship.

With more than 1.8 million Canadians of Indian origin already forming a living bridge between the two countries, the new framework seeks to formalise and supercharge this connection.

The announcement of the Canada–India Talent and Innovation Strategy marks a departure from traditional trade deals, recognising the importance of upskilling human capital. 

A new era of academic mobility

At the heart of this strategy is a massive commitment to student and researcher mobility. The framework provides for 300 funded positions for Indian student researchers, ensuring that the next generation of innovators has access to global opportunities.

Leading the charge is the University of Toronto, which has committed up to US$73.3m to fund scholarships for as many as 200 Indian students.

This investment also includes outbound opportunities for Canadians to study and research in India, and an additional US$7.3m under Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy is allocated to support over 85 Canadian graduate students and researchers working in India.

Institutional partnerships and AI leadership

The partnership goes beyond individual scholarships to establish deep institutional ties.

The strategy includes 13 specific university partnerships, creating a robust network for academic collaboration. This includes the creation of a Dalhousie innovation campus in collaboration with IIT Tirupati and IISER Tirupati, physically improving the educational bond between the nations.

Technology is a primary focus of these educational ventures, with the partnership including the establishment of a Centre of Excellence in AI Education and Research by Jubilant Bhartia-McGill. This centre aims to train 200 graduates annually to boost tech sectors of both nations with high-level talent.

Further strengthening the AI ecosystem, new agreements link the University of Toronto with the Indian Institute of Science and the Jio Institute. These collaborations are designed to facilitate joint research, faculty exchange and – crucially  – industry collaboration to help close a widening digital skills gap.

This intense focus on talent is designed to support the broader economic goals of the partnership.

As Prime Minister Carney notes: "Our strategic partnership, and the speed at which we are working to unleash its potential in energy, talent, and AI, is the result of two confident, ambitious nations."

The skills developed through these partnerships are directly applicable to the other pillars of the agreement, such as clean energy and critical minerals. For instance, the Hydrogen Association of India and Simon Fraser University signed an memorandum of understanding to advance joint hydrogen research.

Similarly, the collaboration on Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage (CCUS) between Saskatchewan’s Petroleum Technology Research Center and IIT Bombay relies heavily on the exchange of technical knowledge and specialised skills.