How does a Canadian business find clients and partners in India?

Scott Cundill · 2026-10-02 · Toronto

Mostly through a person who can vouch for you. In India, deals tend to follow relationships, and in Canada, buyers rarely sign with a firm nobody they know has worked with. So the quickest route across is not a sharper pitch, it is being introduced by someone each side already respects. Below is why that matters, and where to find that person.

Does the time difference get in the way?

Less than you would expect. India keeps the same clock all year, so it sits 9.5 hours ahead of Toronto while Canada is on summer time, and 10.5 hours ahead in the Canadian winter. Eight in the morning in Toronto is half past five in the evening in Mumbai or Bengaluru, which leaves a comfortable window for a first video call.

What actually gets in the way is visibility. A strong software firm in Pune and a growing manufacturer in Mississauga could be ideal for each other, yet neither has any way of discovering the other, and a message from an unknown sender is easy to ignore.

Doesn't the Indian community in Canada already connect the two?

It helps a great deal. Well over a million Canadians have roots in India, so the human bridge already exists. But knowing people of Indian origin in Canada is not the same as knowing the right buyer, supplier or partner in India. A bridge of people only works when someone uses it deliberately, for a specific introduction.

What do Indian firms want from a Canadian partner?

Reliability and commitment. Indian buyers and partners want to know that you will still be there next year, that you understand how things are done in India, and that someone they respect has worked with you. Relationships come first, and the contract follows.

And Indian firms heading to Canada?

The same wall, seen from the other side. Canadian buyers are courteous, they read proposals carefully, and then they quietly choose the supplier someone they know has already used. An excellent Indian firm can go a whole year without a reply, not because the offer was weak, but because nobody in Canada could say they had worked with it.

What makes an introduction land?

Two things. First, a narrow ask: "a Canadian clean technology firm looking for an engineering partner in Pune" gets a useful answer, while "contacts in India" gets nothing. Second, the right messenger: someone already respected on the other side, who writes one note to both of you explaining what you have in common and why a conversation is worth half an hour.

Is the Canada-India Bridge a referral network?

Yes, in the way that matters. Members get referrals to buyers, suppliers and partners on the other side, but every one of them arrives as a personal introduction from someone who knows both people. There are no referral quotas and no list of names to work through. A Canadian firm asking for a referral in Pune gets one person, chosen for a reason, rather than ten names chosen at random.

Where the Canada-India Business Bridge fits

This Bridge was set up for exactly this kind of introduction. It is part of My Most Trusted, a network in which two people are only ever put in touch by someone who knows both of them.

From Toronto, Preethi Balasubramanian looks after the Canadian side. She coaches founders on business transformation and runs WonderEA. A host for the Indian side is still being chosen. Contact lists are never bought, newcomers are never sold to, and if a meeting would not be useful to both people, the host simply does not suggest it.

So whether you are a Canadian firm eyeing India or an Indian firm eyeing Canada, a good first step is to write down the one person you would most like to sit across the table from, over a cup of chai or a coffee, and then ask who in your circle might know them.