Quitol (Goa): Canada is seeking to deepen long-term energy and critical minerals trade with India as it rethinks its heavy dependence on the US market, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson said, sharply criticising the use of tariffs as a tool of economic coercion. Speaking at an inter-ministerial panel at India Energy Week (IEW) 2026, Hodgson described the recently concluded India–European Union (EU) Free Trade Agreement (FTA) as a “perfect example” of rejecting a world where “the strongest puts tariffs on everyone else,” in remarks widely seen as a criticism of US President Donald Trump’s trade policies.
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“What you just did with the EU, signing the ‘mother of all deals’, was a perfect example of a way to say…‘We’re not going to live in a world where the strongest puts tariffs on everyone else. We’re going to live in a world where we believe in free trade and in trusted relationships’,” Hodgson said.
Hodgson said the US’ tariff wars marked a fundamental break in the global trading system rather than a gradual economic shift. “The rules-based order that we all have been building our economies around, one that was based on multilateralism and free trade. The hegemons of the world have decided that’s not the way the world’s going to work anymore. They’ve decided the world will work in a much more mercantilist way,” he said, calling it a “rupture” in how global trade functions.
“I don’t need to tell India what it means when people use their economic integration with your country for coercion. I don’t need to tell you what it means when hegemons use tariffs as leverage,” Hodgson added, stressing that energy now sits at the centre of this shifting geopolitical landscape.
Canada’s relationship with the US, traditionally its closest ally and largest energy buyer, has strained over the past year since President Donald Trump returned to power, prompting Ottawa to reassess its reliance on a single export destination. India, one of the world’s largest consumers and importers of energy, has emerged as a priority market.
“Canada used to provide 98 percent of its energy to one customer. We are committed to diversifying our supply. We see the opportunity to work with India,” Hodgson said, noting that the fastest growth in global energy demand would come from India.
He said Canada was looking to expand supplies across LNG, LPG, oil, uranium and critical minerals, backed by pipeline expansion to the west coast.
Hodgson highlighted that Canada has significantly increased oil production over the past 15 years and holds the world’s fourth-largest reserves, with around 100 years of proven and probable supplies. He noted that India has begun taking Canadian crude cargoes, with refinery upgrades enabling the processing of heavier crude grades.
“Several of your refineries are being expanded to use a heavier slate of crude, which actually matches up perfectly with what we’re doing,” he said, adding that such crude was well suited for petrochemicals, plastics and electric vehicle supply chains.
Canada is also pushing to diversify its LNG exports and position itself as a reliable supplier of uranium and critical minerals required for India’s energy transition.
Following a bilateral meeting between Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and the Canadian Energy and Natural Resources Minister, the two sides agreed to expand cooperation across conventional and clean energy segments, according to a joint statement issued on Tuesday.
The ministers affirmed “the immense importance that energy security and diversity of supply has in the safety, wellbeing, and economic vitality of both countries,” and recognised the “complementary nature of their energy sectors” and the “mutual value to be gained on sustained engagement on energy matters.”
They agreed “to deepen bilateral energy trade including supply of Canadian LNG, LPG, and crude oil to India, and supply of refined petroleum products from India to Canada”, the statement said, noting that India and Canada have “significant potential to emerge strong collaborators in area of energy fuels.”
The two sides also acknowledged “a huge potential for cooperation in clean energy value chains,” identifying opportunities for collaboration in “renewable energy, including hydrogen, biofuels and sustainable aviation fuel; battery storage; critical minerals; clean technologies; electricity systems; energy supply chain resilience, and the application of artificial intelligence in the energy sector.”
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In addition, the ministers underlined the importance of continued government-to-government engagement, reaffirming their commitment to the India–Canada Ministerial Energy Dialogue and “regular and ongoing expert collaboration” to support long-term partnerships across the energy value chain.