The potential deal centres around Canada’s Cameco Corporation, the world’s largest publicly traded uranium company, which is the majority owner of the highest-grade uranium mine, Cigar Lake, located in Saskatchewan.
Canada’s Energy Minister Tim Hodgson recently confirmed that PM Carney will meet with his counterpart Narendra Modi in Delhi in March to finalise various trade deals, including one on uranium supplies.“I can confirm it is happening. Both sides are working on the finer details. Canada has the highest quality, purest concentration of uranium of any country in the world. We have historically supplied uranium to India,” he said.
Hodgson cited the opportunity for Canada to increase uranium supplies to India, providing a low-cost, high-quality source of energy.
“We supply uranium for peaceful purposes to countries all over the world. There’s a tremendous opportunity for us to increase our supplies. That gives India an additional source of low-cost, high-quality uranium. That gives us another buyer. That makes India more secure, more resilient. That makes us more secure, more resilient. I’d say that’s a win-win,” he added.
According to Hodgson, the deal marks a ‘reset’ in relations between the two countries, following a diplomatic spat in 2023-24.
The uranium deal is part of broader trade negotiations, with Canada aiming to double bilateral trade with India to $60 billion by the end of the decade. “Today, bilateral trade between Canada and India is only $30 billion.
Prime Minister Carney and the current government expect that to double by the end of the decade, from uranium to minerals and hydrocarbons, and many of the natural resources Canada has to offer,” he added.
In an earlier interview with Reuters, Dinesh Patnaik, India’s High Commissioner to Canada, stated that the PM will likely visit India in the first week of March to sign deals on uranium, energy, minerals and artificial intelligence. “I have a feeling in the first week of March is what we are looking at,” said Patnaik.
