Cameco signs $2.6B uranium deal with India as Ottawa resets ties
Saskatoon-based Cameco has locked in a $2.6-billion agreement to supply India with 22 million pounds of uranium between 2027 and 2035, the clearest commercial signal yet that the deep freeze in Canada-India relations is over. The deal anchors a broader Strategic Energy Partnership announced by Prime Minister Mark Carney earlier this year and positions Canadian resource producers inside one of the fastest-growing nuclear markets on earth.
For Canadian workers, shareholders and provincial treasuries — particularly in Saskatchewan — the contract is tangible proof that Carney's early 2026 state visit to New Delhi and Mumbai produced more than photo opportunities. It also marks a return of Canadian exporters to an Indian market that drifted toward Australian and Kazakh suppliers during the recent diplomatic rupture.
From rupture to rebalancing
Relations between Ottawa and New Delhi collapsed after the 2023 killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil and the subsequent diplomatic expulsions. Trade talks froze, consular services thinned, and direct flights were curtailed. Carney has spent the first months of 2026 methodically rebuilding the channel.
In April, a senior Canadian envoy told the Observer Research Foundation that recent work had stabilized the relationship after a "rocky period," adding that the two governments now share "a confidence about each other that we didn't have before."
What the partnership covers
According to the Prime Minister's Office, the Strategic Energy Partnership covers a wider slate of Canadian exports than uranium alone.
- LNG and LPG cargoes targeted at Indian coastal terminals
- Uranium supply tied to India's civilian reactor build-out
- Solar and hydrogen technology cooperation
- Metallurgical coal and critical minerals expected to begin shipping around 2027
Carney and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also agreed to conclude a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) within 2026, reviving talks that had been shelved for nearly three years.
Cameco's Saskatchewan play
Cameco, headquartered in Saskatoon and operating the Cigar Lake and McArthur River mines in northern Saskatchewan, has been the dominant beneficiary of the reset. The 22-million-pound supply contract is one of the largest uranium deals signed by any western producer in the past decade.
"Canada can offer India what very few partners can: secure supply, clean energy content, and the regulatory credibility of a G7 democracy."
That line, from a government briefing shared with Canadian trade reporters, captures how Ottawa is selling the partnership domestically. The deal is also politically useful for Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, whose government has pressed for federal engagement with Indo-Pacific uranium buyers.
Strategic stakes beyond the dollars
India's electricity demand is projected to roughly double by 2040, and New Delhi wants to expand nuclear generation to reduce its dependence on coal. For Canada, securing long-term offtake contracts helps underwrite new mine development and provides a hedge against uranium price volatility.
There is also a geopolitical dimension. Ottawa is using energy and minerals to reassert itself as an Indo-Pacific player, complementing its recent defence spending boost and a trade diversification push driven by friction with the United States.
What's next
Negotiators will table an initial CEPA draft by summer, with both sides targeting ratification before year-end. Cameco's first deliveries under the new contract are scheduled for 2027, aligned with the commissioning of two Indian reactors. Canadian LNG shipments hinge on the completion of west-coast export capacity, which remains the key bottleneck.
