ANDREW Scheer, Conservative Party Leader, will travel to India this fall for a nine-day mission to “repair and strengthen” Canada-India relations.

The Leader of the Official Opposition will meet with senior Indian government officials, business leaders, and civil society and faith leaders to establish personal relationships and highlight the powerful values and strong alliance that underpins the relationship between Canada and India.

The Conservative Party of Canada will pay for the mission.

“As the world’s largest democracy and one of its fast-growing economies, India in recent years is transforming into a rising power in the vast Indo-Pacific region and beyond,” Scheer said. “Our two countries share symbolic and cultural bonds borne from decades of migration and common heritage. Standing with a united India is Canada’s gateway to unprecedented human and economic development, and an essential alliance for Canada to strengthen in the face of shared threats.

“Unfortunately, [Prime Minister] Justin Trudeau’s disastrous trip to India damaged this key relationship and we must now work to repair it. A Conservative government will dramatically expand the strategic relationship between our countries and our peoples and advance our shared security, prosperity, and values.”