When you are on vacation, sometimes news from home is so awesome, I just had to share. I've known Dan Brodie since he was 2! We are long time friends with his parents. He was chosen to accompany Team Canada for a Trade Delegation to India.
If you follow my blog, I've written about Dan before. He just wrote a best selling book "Lead With Clarity". I couldn't be happier this fantastic guy had the trip of a lifetime!
An inside look at Canada's largest trade delegation to India in more than 30 years, and the people who made it an experience to remember.
Three hours of sleep, two cities, hundreds of delegates, and more meetings than I could possibly count. Somewhere between a late night reception in Mumbai and a 5:15 a.m. departure for Bengaluru, I began to appreciate just how much goes into bringing a Canadian trade mission to life. The days were long, schedules ambitious, and the opportunities to connect seemingly endless. Yet despite the pace, or perhaps partly because of it, something wonderful was happening among those of us fortunate enough to participate.
I've attended many conferences and business events throughout my career, but there's something different about travelling halfway around the world with people representing your country. We arrived from different provinces, industries, and organizations, each with our own ambitions and reasons for being there. During those first couple of days, between jet lag, market briefings, and introductions, everyone was finding their rhythm.
By our third day together, something had shifted. At the magnificent Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai, conversations flowed more naturally, laughter came more easily, and people were taking a genuine interest in one another's work. There was a growing camaraderie among the delegates, an unmistakable sense that we were becoming something more than Canadian business leaders attending the same event. We were beginning to feel like Team Canada.
And we weren't experiencing this alone. The warmth of our Indian hosts, their openness to new relationships, and the extraordinary range of business leaders and entrepreneurs we encountered brought an entirely different dimension to the experience. Having spent considerable time in India over the years, I've developed a deep affection for the country and its people. Watching fellow Canadians experience some of that same generosity and enthusiasm was particularly rewarding.
So, what actually happens on a trade mission?
The October 2026 Team Canada Trade Mission to India brought nearly 300 delegates to Mumbai and Bengaluru, making it Canada's largest trade delegation to India in more than three decades. Led by Canada's Minister of International Trade, the Hon. Maninder Sidhu P.C.,M.P., the mission brought together entrepreneurs, business executives, innovators, educational institutions, and government representatives to strengthen commercial relationships between our two countries.
It was an extraordinary undertaking, and participating gave me a much greater appreciation for what goes into making something of this scale possible.
My own involvement began several months earlier, when Martin Barratt, CITP/FIBP, Canada's Consul and Senior Trade Commissioner in Bengaluru, and Grace Dsouza introduced me to the opportunity during a visit to the Consulate General of Canada in Bengaluru. I was immediately interested. Representing Charitable Impact, I saw opportunities to introduce our organization to new relationships, explore potential collaborations, and support the growing interest in corporate giving. And personally, having spent so much time in India, I welcomed the opportunity to help strengthen relationships between two countries I care deeply about.
What followed was considerably more intensive than I had imagined.
Our first day in Mumbai was largely about introductions, understanding the market, meeting fellow delegates, and preparing for the days ahead. Many had arrived directly from Canada and were still adjusting to the time difference. There was a noticeable mixture of excitement, curiosity, and exhaustion as everyone tried to absorb an extraordinary amount of information while remembering who they'd just met.
The following morning, things accelerated considerably.
My day began early, responding to messages and attending to work with our Charitable Impact team back in Vancouver. After a quick networking breakfast, the business meetings began around 9:30 a.m., with a new conversation roughly every thirty minutes until 1:30 p.m. There was little time to pause, and often other people hoping to connect between scheduled appointments.
One conversation might involve artificial intelligence or digital transformation, the next financial services, cybersecurity, or an organization working to improve people's lives. The calibre and diversity of the Indian business leaders we met were impressive. Every meeting opened another window into the scale of India's economy and the ambitions of its entrepreneurs.
After a hurried lunch, delegates dispersed into industry programming and site visits, with opportunities to engage organizations such as TATA Power, Yotta Data Center, and Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd.. I had existing work commitments that prevented me from joining those particular visits, but the breadth of the program was remarkable. Evenings brought further networking opportunities, presentations, and receptions, often extending late into the night.
And then you did it all again the next morning.
One evening in Mumbai, I returned to the hotel around midnight, packed my bags, caught up on work, and finally got to sleep around 1:30 a.m. By 4:45 a.m., I was awake again, preparing for an early flight to Bengaluru. After the flight and the journey into the city, we were straight back into briefings, industry sessions, and meetings with Indian business leaders.
Arriving in Bengaluru, I was greeted by three familiar faces: my Charitable Impact colleagues and good friends Avinash Durge, Avinash Viswambharan, and Sandeep Shet, who had come to the airport to welcome me and drive me to the hotel. I'm convinced I could have had CSIS arrange a covert arrival, and these three would still have somehow tracked me down at baggage claim! It was such a thoughtful gesture, particularly given the early hour, and a wonderful reminder of the friendships I've been fortunate to develop with our team in India. After very little sleep, seeing them was exactly the welcome I needed.
From there, it was straight back into the pace of the mission, with briefings, industry sessions, and meetings with Indian business leaders filling the afternoon and evening.
That evening, we gathered for a beautiful outdoor reception surrounded by tropical greenery. It had been raining, and Bengaluru's famous traffic had made getting there an adventure of its own, but by then the energy among everyone was extraordinary. Somehow, despite running on very little sleep, people still had plenty of enthusiasm for another conversation, another introduction, and another opportunity to connect.
I eventually returned to the hotel around midnight, with another full day ahead.
If you've ever wondered whether a trade mission is simply a collection of formal meetings and diplomatic receptions, I can assure you there's considerably more to it. And perhaps the most interesting things happen between the scheduled events.
The conversations you never could have planned
One of my favourite experiences began when I stepped outside to finish a telephone call.
I found myself chatting with Anil Rawat, Managing Director of Sukma Industries Limited, and what began as a casual conversation became one of the most memorable encounters of the mission.
Anil shared his passion for supporting tribal communities in Chhattisgarh, India. His organization is developing an ambitious approach to creating economic opportunities through agriculture, manufacturing, traditional crafts, and other industries, while preserving the cultural identity and knowledge of those communities. Its long term vision includes creating one million livelihood opportunities over ten years.
The ambition was impressive, but what stayed with me most was Anil himself. He was gentle, compassionate, and genuinely excited about what he was doing. After decades of meeting people at business conferences, you develop a sense for when someone's passion comes from somewhere deeper than commercial ambition. For Anil, helping others seemed less like a business objective and more like a calling.
I had stepped outside to take a call and ended up in a conversation that, for me, captured some of the very best of India.
There were so many moments like this throughout the week. People sharing stories about their families, their journeys, their businesses, and why they had chosen to pursue the work they were doing. Some were visiting India for the first time. Others, like me, had longstanding relationships with the country. Some had been born in India and built careers in Canada, while others had travelled in the opposite direction.
As we got to know one another, the conversations increasingly moved beyond what our organizations could do together to who we were as people.
The Canadians who made it special
A large part of the enjoyment came from the other Canadians participating in the mission.
My longtime friend Sukesh Kumar FCPA, FCA, FCGA, who leads KPMG Canada's India Practice, was among the familiar faces. We've known each other for roughly twenty years, and despite both working in Vancouver, we somehow seem to see each other more often at events in India than back home! It was wonderful to reconnect and to get to know his colleague Rakan Aown, Executive Director at KPMG Canada. Rakan has become a particularly good friend over the course of the mission. His warmth, humour, and genuine interest in others made spending time together an absolute pleasure.
Rakan also introduced me to Vandit Verma, Partner and CEO of Enervoxa Inc., a Canadian company pursuing innovative clean technology solutions. Vandit and I hit it off almost immediately, discovering common interests and enjoying some fascinating conversations. It's another example of how one introduction can lead to unexpected connections and possibilities, and I'm looking forward to getting to know him better.
It was equally enjoyable to share the experience with Ashley Martis from StartupFuel, whose work supporting entrepreneurs and investors is opening up interesting possibilities for collaboration, and with Sumona Banerji and Blayne Kumar of MindShield-CyberPsychology & Cognitive Security, who are advancing an important conversation about cognitive security and protecting people from manipulation in the age of artificial intelligence.
Another person who left a wonderful impression was Sobhana Jaya-Madhavan, MSW, Founder and CEO of MuchMagic Global® Consultancy. With a background spanning Canada, India, and the social impact sector, Sobhana has a warmth and enthusiasm that makes connecting with her almost effortless. Our conversations were a lovely reminder of how much common ground people can discover when they're genuinely interested in one another.
These were just a few of the extraordinary people I had the pleasure of meeting. The delegation included leaders from technology, clean energy, education, aerospace, agriculture, financial services, and many other sectors. There was a real willingness to help each other, share introductions, and celebrate one another's ambitions.
In many ways, that was one of the most rewarding aspects of the entire experience.
The extraordinary people behind Team Canada
I would be remiss not to recognize the tremendous work of the Canadian diplomatic and trade teams, both those based in India and those who travelled from Canada to support the mission.
Bringing nearly 300 delegates together across two major Indian cities, coordinating meetings with business leaders, organizing industry programming, receptions, briefings, transportation, and countless logistical details is an enormous undertaking. From the perspective of a participant, the organization was exceptional.
What impressed me just as much was the personal approach of the people leading it.
I had the pleasure of spending time with Chris Cooter, Canada's High Commissioner to India, whose knowledge and perspective on the evolving relationship between our countries were fascinating. Ed Jager, Minister (Commercial) at the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi, brought an extraordinary warmth and enthusiasm to our conversations. And Sara Wilshaw, Canada's Chief Trade Commissioner, was gracious, engaging, funny, and remarkably approachable.
These are people with significant responsibilities and exceptionally demanding schedules, yet they made the time to engage with delegates in genuine conversation. Just as importantly, I noticed the kindness and appreciation they showed to the people working around them. That says a great deal about the character of the people representing our country.
The same spirit extended throughout the Trade Commissioner Service | Service des délégués commerciaux. Martin Barratt, Grace D'Souza, Joachim Rocha, and so many others contributed to an experience that felt both professionally valuable and personally welcoming.
There are countless people whose names I never learned, from the teams coordinating business introductions and transportation to those quietly ensuring every event ran smoothly. Their efforts deserve enormous recognition.
And I want to acknowledge our Indian hosts and business community as well. Their hospitality, openness, curiosity, and enthusiasm for developing new relationships were essential to the success of the mission. The experience would not have been nearly as special without them.
More than a week of meetings
The mission produced tangible results. According to Global Affairs Canada | Affaires mondiales Canada, 34 commercial agreements, partnerships, and investment wins were announced, with a combined estimated value approaching $300 million. That's an impressive achievement and an encouraging reflection of the opportunities emerging between Canada and India.
For Charitable Impact, the week also provided valuable opportunities to introduce our work to business leaders and organizations that may become future collaborators, particularly as we continue developing our corporate giving programs. Just as importantly, it helped raise awareness of our mission to make charitable giving more accessible and to encourage greater participation in generosity.
But there is another outcome that is harder to capture in official announcements or economic statistics.
It's the relationships.
Some will undoubtedly develop into business opportunities or institutional partnerships. Others will lead to introductions, collaboration, and ideas that neither side had considered before arriving. And some, I genuinely believe, will become lifelong friendships.
As the mission came to a close, I found myself reflecting on how fortunate I was to have participated. I felt tremendous pride in the Canadians who represented our country, in the diplomatic and trade teams who brought everyone together, and in the wonderful Indian people and organizations who welcomed us.
I've always felt a strong connection to both Canada and India, and this experience deepened that appreciation considerably.
For anyone considering participating in a future Team Canada Trade Mission, I would wholeheartedly encourage you to explore the opportunity. Be prepared for long days, little sleep, an extraordinary number of conversations, and perhaps a few adventures navigating local traffic. More importantly, arrive with curiosity, generosity, and a willingness to get to know people beyond their business cards.
And for everyone back home who might never participate in a trade mission, I hope this offers a glimpse of the extraordinary work being done to bring our countries closer together.
It was a privilege to be part of Team Canada, and an even greater pleasure to experience the warmth, ambition, and generosity of the people we met in India.
I couldn't have asked for a better experience.
Here is Dan's book. I've not only read it, I got him to sign it for me!
