Indian High Commissioner suggests Canada should increase its Indian population by 60 million
India’s High Commissioner to Canada stated because of Canada and India’s “complimentary economies,” Canada should be keen to welcome 60 million more Indians into the country.
Dinesh K. PatnaikPhoto Credit: Leah Mushet, WS; ChatGPT
Published on:
02 Mar 2026, 12:48 pm
CALGARY — India’s High Commissioner to Canada stated because of Canada and India’s “complimentary economies,” Canada should be keen to welcome 60 million more Indians into the country.
In an interview with CBC News on Saturday, Commissioner Dinesh K. Patnaik, echoed sentiments of a mutually beneficial economic strategy, which he believes includes a large increase of Indian immigrants.
“You have things which we need, and we have things which you need,” stated Patnaik.
“For example, you have the second largest [geographical] country in the world — with a 40 million population, you need at least over 100 million population.”
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Patnaik is referring to India’s high population — as India yields the highest population in the world with an estimated 1.4 billion people in 2026, which it would be willing to lend to Canada.
“You need people to man many of your resources,” stated Patnaik.
“We have the capacity, we have the intellect, we have the talent, we have the resources.”
According to Statistics Canada, the country’s population is approximately 41 million in 2026.
In 2021, 44%, or 1.1 million, of Canada’s population was Indian, the largest group of South Asians in the country.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs reports, as of 2025, Canada has 2.8 million Indians in the country.
What Patnaik was insinuating was that since Canada needs 100 million individuals in order to truly actualize its economic potential — Indians would help to do so.
Statistics Canada has already predicted by 2041, Canada’s South Asian population (which includes more than just Indians), will reach 4.7 to 6.5 million people.
But Patnaik is suggesting something different — he is advocating 60 million of India’s citizens leave the country.
This advice would go against what the feds have claimed their current immigration plans are.
Last fall, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced a return of immigration levels in the country to “sustainable levels.”
The IRCC states they expect to issue 408,000 study permits in the next year; of this number, 155,000 will be for new international students.
They also state this is a 7% decrease from 2025 numbers.
This is related to a lowering of Canada’s Indian immigration since, a report on public college international student demographics from Statistics Canada states in the 2023 to 2024 academic year, 59% of students were coming from India.
The IRCC also stated they are reducing their permanent resident (PR) targets and their temporary resident (TR) targets between 2025 and 2027.
It reported in 2025, there were 146,395 fewer new workers compared to the same period in 2024.