India and Canada relaunch energy dialogue; Oil India to explore Canadian critical minerals

India and Canada on Tuesday officially renewed the Ministerial Energy Dialogue during the India Energy Week (IEW) 2026 in Goa. Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri and Canadian Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Timothy Hodgson announced a road map for long-term trade in crude oil, LNG, and critical minerals essential for the energy transition.

The high-level meeting is the first such ministerial engagement in eight years and follows the June 2025 meeting between the Prime Ministers of both nations on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Kananaskis.

Puri stated that Canada remains a strategic partner for India’s energy security, citing the North American nation’s vast resource base. “Canada could potentially have reserves of over 100 years of crude oil,” Puri noted, adding that this was his third interaction with Minister Hodgson to explore supply chains and the bilateral framework.

According to the joint statement, the trade between the two nations will focus on:

• Energy Exports: Increased supply of Canadian crude oil, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) to India.
• Infrastructure: Utilization of the Trans Mountain Expansion (TMX) Pipeline to boost crude exports to Asian markets.
• Refining: Supply of refined petroleum products from India to Canada to leverage India's high refining capacity.
• Strategic Hunt for Critical Minerals

A significant development of the dialogue is the pivot toward securing raw materials for electric vehicles (EVs) and renewable infrastructure. State-owned Oil India Ltd (OIL) has been tasked with leading a consortia to secure and explore critical mineral assets in Canada.

"Oil India could be looking at exploring some mines for Lithium, Cobalt, and rare earth elements," Minister Puri said during the press briefing.

Ranjit Rath, CMD of Oil India said, "Oil India will look at exploring various critical minerals and rare earth elements, we will be looking at securing critical minerals like lithium, cobalt and rare earth elements that are essential for manufacturing electric vehicles."

The two nations will be looking at reciprocal investments, with India highlighting a US$ 500 billion opportunity across its energy value chain. Canada, in turn, noted its $116 billion in energy projects currently under development.

The dialogue also outlined cooperation in Green Hydrogen, biofuels, and carbon capture technologies. The ministers emphasized that diversifying supply chains for critical minerals is a priority to mitigate risks associated with concentrated global supplies.

The next round of senior-level engagements is expected to take place in March 2026 during a scheduled Canadian trade mission to New Delhi.