The Canadian government has said that it is planning a new trade office in Gujarat. Following the anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat in 2002, the former Liberal Party government had indirectly put the Indian state in the black list. This new announcement was made by the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper at Toronto recently during a luncheon by the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC).  

Mr Stephen Harper said that his Conservative Party will open a new trade office in Gujarat if it gets voted back in next month's election. The Canadian PM had previously made announcements about opening new trade offices in Hyderabad and Kolkata to boost Indo-Canadian economic relationship.

He said, 'We have (already) expanded operations at our trade missions in Delhi and Mumbai and announced new trade offices in Hyderabad and Kolkata.' Talking about his 2006 commitment pertaining the Indo-Canadian community, Mr Harper remarked that the two nations since then have 'covered a lot ground together.'