Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney termed Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a “unique guy” and cracked a joke about his hectic campaign activities while speaking at a seminar in Sydney, Australia.

Mark Carney made the comments while speaking at a seminar organised by the Lowy Institute, where he reflected on his four-day trip to India and his meeting with the Indian Prime Minister.

In his comments, Mark Carney said, “The guy is unique. He has not taken a day off in 25 years, either as the Chief Minister of Gujarat or as the Prime Minister.”

Also Read | What is Milan 2026? Indian Navy’s mega maritime exercise where Iran’s IRIS Dena took part

While making comments about the working style of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney also cracked a joke about his Canadian counterpart François-Philippe Champagne. "He hasn't taken even one day off. Every weekend, like you, François-Philippe, he is out campaigning. He gets 250,000 people at his rallies, you get 25, but that's okay."

Carney highlights Modi’s focus on rural delivery and UPI

Carney also praised Modi's governance model, including his focus on providing benefits to rural populations. Speaking at a seminar, the Canadian leader pointed out how India's Unified Payments Interface has revolutionised financial reforms.

"He gave me a hack that anyone would follow up, which is he's a person who is very focused on delivery," Carney said. He added that the motivation behind developing digital payment systems in India has been to ensure that money reaches citizens directly.

"A huge motivation for the financial reform transformations, the payment systems transformation, UPI and other things was to get money directly to individuals without leakage in the system in real-time," Carney said. According to Carney, these reforms have helped bring hundreds of millions of people into the economy.

Visit aimed at rebuilding India–Canada ties

Carney’s visit to India earlier this month was seen as an effort to rebuild diplomatic ties between the two countries.

Relations between India and Canada had deteriorated in 2023 after then Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged that Indian government agents were linked to the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada.

During Carney’s visit, both sides discussed expanding cooperation in trade, energy and strategic sectors.

Following bilateral talks, India and Canada finalised agreements on critical minerals and uranium supply and also set the terms of reference for negotiations toward a potential free trade agreement.

Also Read | India dismisses reports of US using Indian ports to strike Iran, calls claim 'fake and false'

India’s Department of Atomic Energy and Cameco, a Canadian uranium producer, signed a $2.6 billion agreement for the supply of 22 million pounds of uranium ore between 2027 and 2035, according to previous reports.

Carney’s trip marked the first visit by a Canadian prime minister to India in eight years. During the visit, he called for stronger trade and defence cooperation between the two countries, noting that global economic and security frameworks are undergoing significant changes. "Like India, we know that the certainties that have structured trade, security, finance and diplomacy for more than a generation have been overturned," Carney said.