Canada India relations: Canada did such a thing before PM Modi’s meeting, thousands of Indians became excited

Relations between India and Canada are again moving in a new direction. The meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Canadian PM Mark Carney during the G20 Leaders Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa almost ended the established relations between the two countries. After this meeting, both the countries announced to restart talks on the old and stalled trade agreement CEPA, which is considered a major change in relations. But before this meeting, Canada has given a big gift to the families of Indian origin. The Canadian government has paved the way for major changes in citizenship rules. The ‘Lost Canadians’ law has now received Royal Assent. This Bill C-3 actually makes important changes in the Canadian Citizenship Act 2025 and will provide relief to thousands of families who were worried about citizenship for their children for many years.

This bill was passed by the Senate this week and after getting the Royal Assent, the formal process of implementing it will start. Canada’s Immigration Minister Lina Diab said that this law will give justice to people who were left out due to old rules. He said that the new law will end the problems of those families whose children or those who themselves could not get citizenship because they were born abroad.

What is this bill?

The purpose of this bill is to abolish the old rule which was called ‘second generation cut-off’. In 2009, Canada changed the law and decided that a Canadian citizen who was born abroad can give citizenship to his child only if the child is born in Canada. This created a large number of people who came to be known as ‘Lost Canadians’. That is, people who considered themselves citizens of Canada but the law stood in their way.

What is the relief for Indians?

There were many Indian origin families whose children could not get citizenship because they were born or adopted abroad. As soon as the new law comes into force, such people will be able to get citizenship directly, provided their case is affected by the old law. Also, the new rule says that any Canadian citizen, who was born or adopted abroad, will be able to pass on citizenship to his child.

There will be talks between India and Canada

India and Canada started negotiations for CEPA i.e. Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement in 2010. There was a lot of momentum on this in 2022. Especially in areas like medicines, critical minerals, tourism, green energy and mining, both the countries had increased their cooperation. But in 2023, Canada had stopped the talks, due to which bitterness and tension became clearly visible in the relations.

India’s Foreign Ministry has clearly said in a statement issued on Sunday night that both the countries are now ready to take forward a high-ambition trade agreement. The target is to increase the trade between the two countries to 50 billion dollars by 2030. This will not only increase business but can also open many new doors like jobs, investment and technology sharing. Along with this, both the countries have also talked about further strengthening civil nuclear cooperation. In particular, there has been an intention to restart discussions on the long-term uranium supply agreement. This area is considered very important strategically for both the countries.