After 2024 low, opinion about India among Canadians rises: Poll

Toronto: After having plummeted in 2024, opinion about India among Canadians has improved this year. In addition, a majority support the efforts of Prime Minister Mark Carney to improve the trade relationship with India, according to a survey released on Tuesday.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (right) shakes hands with his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, India, on March 2, 2026. (Hindustan Times)The survey, with a sample of 1,609 Canadians, was conducted by the non-profit polling agency Angus Reid Institute or ARI in partnership with the Asia-Pacific Foundation of Canada.

“Canadians’ views of India have also become more positive in the past two years with 36% saying they have a favourable view of the world’s most populous country, an increase of 10 points from 2024,” ARI said in a release.

ARI pointed out that US President Donald Trump’s “tariff agenda perhaps led Canadians to reassess their views of the world.” The shift in opinion is not limited to India but also includes China, which now has a 38% approval, 23% higher than in 2024.

“More Canadians view India and China positively than do the US (25% favourability),” the survey noted. The year 2024 had marked the nadir of relations between India and Canada. In October that year, India withdrew six diplomats and officials from Canada after Ottawa asked New Delhi to waive their diplomatic immunity so they could be interrogated in connection with a violent crime in the country.

In retaliation, India expelled six Canadian diplomats. That aggravated the negativity which had been caused by then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s statement in the House of Commons on September 18, 2023, that there were “credible allegations” of a potential link between Indian agents and the killing of pro-Khalistan figure Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, British Columbia, three months earlier.

India had dismissed those accusations as absurd and motivated. Relations were renewed after Carney replaced Trudeau as PM in March 2025, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to make a bilateral visit to Canada next month to mark the conclusion of negotiations towards a comprehensive economic partnership agreement between the two countries.

That trade agenda is resonating with Canadian citizens. The survey stated, “Canadians are much more likely to prioritise trade and investment in Canada’s relationship with India than they were two years ago. At that time, three-in-five (62%) said ‘human rights and the rule of law’ should be a greater priority.

Now a majority (56%) believe Canada should instead focus on ‘trade and investment opportunities’.” Anirudh Bhattacharya is a Toronto-based commentator on North American issues, and an author. He has also worked as a journalist in New Delhi and New York spanning print, television and digital media.

He tweets as @anirudhb.Read More