Canada Deepens AI Partnership with India as Minister Evan Solomon Advances MOUs, Investment, and Trilateral Cooperation
Canada is tightening AI ties with India to connect research strength, talent, and companies with India's market scale and momentum. During a three-day visit to New Delhi, Minister of Artificial Intelligence Evan Solomon attended the India AI Impact Summit 2026, backed new academic-industry agreements, and advanced trilateral cooperation with Australia.
What was announced
- Two new MOUs were signed: the University of Waterloo with Tata Consultancy Services, and another with upgrade-expanding academic and commercial collaboration.
- In recent months, eight Canadian universities have progressed 11 MOUs with Indian partners focused on skills development, commercialization, and business expansion.
- Solomon met with Ashwini Vaishnaw, India's Minister for Railways, Information and Broadcasting, and Electronics and Information Technology, and Andrew Charlton, Australia's Assistant Minister for Science, Technology and the Digital Economy, reaffirming the Australia-Canada-India Technology and Innovation Partnership announced at the G20 in November 2025.
- He addressed the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) Council Meeting, emphasizing international cooperation on responsible AI.
- India invited Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to attend the India AI Impact Summit in the coming weeks.
- Alongside Canadian High Commissioner Chris Cooter, Solomon hosted over 150 leaders for a reception in New Delhi, where he highlighted planned collaboration with LawZero, a nonprofit advancing safe-by-design AI founded by Turing Award-winning AI pioneer Yoshua Bengio.
- Working sessions covered AI safety, inclusion, governance, and cross-border investment.
Why this matters
- Two-way growth: The deals and dialogues aim to accelerate market entry for companies on both sides, attract investment, and create high-quality jobs.
- Research to deployment: University-industry MOUs help move ideas from labs into production environments, with clearer talent pipelines and commercialization paths.
- Trust and standards: Engagement through forums like the Global Partnership on AI supports shared approaches to safety, governance, and procurement.
- Digital infrastructure: Collaboration discussions spanned AI, digital public infrastructure, and advanced tech-core enablers for scalable systems and services.
What Minister Solomon said
"India is one of the world's fastest-growing digital economies, and this visit was about turning shared ambition into real opportunity. Canada is building practical partnerships that connect our AI talent, research strength, and innovation ecosystem with India's scale, market dynamism, and entrepreneurial energy. We are focused on helping our businesses expand into each other's markets and strengthening two-way investment between our countries."
"By deepening collaboration between our companies, startups, and institutions, we are creating new pathways for growth and high-quality jobs in both Canada and India, while ensuring AI is developed and deployed in ways people can trust."
What to watch next
- Details and implementation timelines for the Waterloo-TCS and upgrade MOUs, including talent programs and commercialization tracks.
- Potential announcements tied to the anticipated visit of Prime Minister Mark Carney to the India AI Impact Summit.
- Trilateral workstreams under the Australia-Canada-India Technology and Innovation Partnership, with emphasis on safety, standards, and inclusive AI adoption.
Practical takeaways for stakeholders
- Government: Align pilot programs and procurement with trusted AI principles; explore joint calls and standards coordination with Indian and Australian counterparts.
- Universities and labs: Identify faculty and industry partners for joint research, talent exchanges, and IP frameworks that support commercialization.
- Industry: Map where Canadian strengths (models, tooling, safety, applied research) complement India's scale (data, engineering, deployment) and pursue co-development or market-entry partnerships.
- Investors: Track deal flow from the new MOUs and look for cross-border ventures anchored in safety, compliance, and near-term revenue.
Context and references
- India's policy and digital public infrastructure ecosystem: Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY)
- Responsible AI cooperation: Global Partnership on AI (GPAI)
Further learning
Canadian officials described the visit as strengthening commercial relationships and strategic alliances, while opening new pathways for investment and technology collaboration with India-and reinforcing Canada's position in global AI.
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