Ahmedabad: Ontario is looking to increase trade with India, with defence emerging as the “big new play”, Victor Fedeli, Ontario’s minister of economic development, job creation and trade, said on Tuesday.“We always look for partners that we can work together with,” Fedeli told TOI in Ahmedabad. “Ontario is looking for opportunities to partner with companies and manufacturers who want to pivot towards defence, where the big spending is. If you asked me last year or any of the previous six years, I would have said aerospace. Now this year there is a particular twist: defence.” On defence spending, Fedeli said, “Canada aims at reaching 5% of its GDP towards a NATO commitment that was announced by our prime minister. A major component would be the proposed purchase of 12 submarines by the federal govt.” On future areas of cooperation, Fedeli said growth would continue in life sciences and tech, while Ontario is also looking at advanced manufacturing. “India is the fastest-growing economy in the world and poised to become one of the largest economies. This region is your export–import region of importance. We, in Ontario, are looking to continue to increase our trade with India. We have mutual expertise in life sciences, petrochemicals and tech,” he said. Fedeli told TOI bilateral trade between India and Ontario is “about $5 billion annually” and “up 60% since 2018”. Speaking on the volatile geopolitical situation and ties with the United States, Fedeli said, “Since Liberation Day in Jan a year ago, we feel the US is no longer a reliable partner for Canada. In a “very tumultuous world”, marked by wars and supply chain disruptions, countries are looking for stable and dependable partnerships.” Calling India “a reliable partner to Canada and a very reliable partner for the United States”, he said, “Ontario would continue to engage with India while leaving the geopolitics to the federal govts.” Fedeli said Indian companies such as HGS, Infosys, HCL, Zoho and Tata Consultancy have operations in Ontario.
