B.C. Premier David Eby is heading to India on Friday with the province’s jobs minister, saying trade tensions with the U.S. have created a “window of opportunity” to expand bilateral trade ties with other nations.
“By expanding our trade with India, we’re able to provide support to communities across the country that have been particularly impacted by [U.S. President Donald] Trump’s tariffs, especially in the forestry sector, which is the big focus of this mission,” Eby said in an event in Vancouver on Jan. 6, announcing the trip.
The aim is to build on last spring’s trip to Japan, South Korea and Malaysia, he said. Jobs and Economic Growth Minister Ravi Kahlon will join Eby on the trip, with the delegation scheduled to meet government and business leaders in New Delhi, Mumbai, Chandigarh and Bangalore.
“Our goals are clear: It’ll be to diversify beyond the U.S., double our exports, and grow sectors like tech and life sciences,” Kahlon said. “And India is an important part of that vision.”
Kahlon said bilateral trade between B.C. and India in 2024 was worth $2.1 billion, and that 25 per cent of Canada’s exports to India came from B.C.
Kahlon also mentioned energy and mining as sectors he is targeting on the trip.
Eby was asked repeatedly whether he had taken into account the killing of Sikh activist Hardeep Nijjar in 2023 in B.C., allegedly carried out by Indian hitmen, when planning the trip. He said it was up to the courts to deal with those charged in the case, and to the federal government to engage on issues of “shared concern” with India.
“Our proper role as subnational government, as a province, is to ensure we’re looking after British Columbia, and in a moment of opportunity and warming relations with India, to ensure that we’re benefiting,” he said.