Canada’s high commissioner to India, Christopher Cooter, has actually stated Canadian universities and colleges are preparing for a stronger existence in India through branch schools, joint degrees and talent mobility collaborations, as the 2 countries continue efforts to reset relations after a prolonged diplomatic stress.
Talking to CNN-News18, Cooter said Canadian organizations were now “committed to India”, with education and talent mobility emerging as key pillars of broader India-Canada ties.
“We currently host a large number of Indian students, and we love them, and we ‘d like to have more of them, however all of our colleges and universities are now dedicated to India,” stated Cooter.
“That might be open campuses, joint degrees, it could imply faculty coming here, trainees coming here from Canada. The presence of Canadian universities, which we believe is the best in the world, is now coming more straight to India, which will be more feasible for a great deal of students, more economical, much easier to access.”
The existence of Canadian educational institutions, which we think is the best worldwide, is now coming more directly to India, which will be more practical for a lot of students, more economical, simpler to access
Christopher Cooter, Canadian High Commission
The remarks build on Canada’s current push towards global education, research study cooperation and offshore engagement in India, following the launch earlier this year of a joint Canada-India “talent and development strategy” involving more than 20 Canadian organizations.
The strategy consisted of contracts around hybrid schools, AI centres of quality, scholarships, research study collaborations and scholastic movement, and followed a delegation visit by Canadian universities to India led by Universities Canada.
At the time, Canadian university leaders informed The PIE News they were checking out stronger on-the-ground engagement in India through branch campuses, pathway programs, student exchanges and research cooperation, as organizations adjust to installing pressures throughout Canada’s global education sector.
The developments come in the middle of a sharp decrease in Indian trainee mobility to Canada over the previous two years. Recent IRCC data revealed Canada released roughly 73,800 brand-new research study permits in 2025– a 64% year-on-year drop and the nation’s least expensive intake in a years, while approval rates for Indian candidates fell greatly from 69% in 2024 to around 25-27% in 2025.
The decline follows tighter visa rules, rising living expenses, housing pressures and growing unpredictability around post-study opportunities, together with diplomatic tensions that interfered with India-Canada relations after both countries expelled diplomats in 2023.
Regardless of the decrease, Cooter explained Indian students as the “most significant part” of economic engagement in between the 2 nations.
“Well, it’s an unusual thing in our relationship that, in spite of the complementarity of the two economies, we do not actually do that much trade. The most significant part of it, in truth, is students going to Canada. 400,000 of them are hosted in Canada, more than the United States, Europe, and the UK integrated,” he said.
Cooter also suggested the two countries were now looking beyond merely bring back ties towards a wider long-term financial collaboration.
“We wish to get the trade agreement concluded this year. We want to make a great deal of progress on the 2 prime ministers’ goal of doubling trade by 2030. We don’t want to wait till 2030. We ‘d like to double it in the past, but we’ll make great progress,” he added.
< img src ="// www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%200%200'%3E%3C/svg%3E"/ > < img src="https://thepienews.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/TheStayClub-600x500-copy-1.jpg"/ >