In a major reset for diplomatic ties just ahead of PM Mark Carney visit to New Delhi, the federal government in Ottawa has said it believes that India is linked to violent crimes in Canada, a claim that brought the relations between the two nations to an all-time low during Justin Trudeau’s tenure.
The remarks, made by a senior Canadian government official, were reported by the Toronto Star on Wednesday at a crucial time as Prime Minister Mark Carney heads to India for an important visit today.
“We have a very robust diplomatic engagement, including between national security advisers, and I think we can say weโre confident that that activity is not continuing,โ one of the senior officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said according to the report.
The Report further stated that government officials said previous concerns about active foreign interference and repression in Canada by agents linked to the Indian government no longer apply.ย
India-Canada ties and Trudeau’s claims
India has repeatedly rejected as “absurd and motivated” the allegations made by Trudeau in September 2023 that Indian agents were involved in the assassination of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar earlier that year.
India also countered Trudeau that such sought to shift the focus from “Khalistani terrorists and extremists, who have been provided shelter in Canada and continue to threaten Indiaโs sovereignty and territorial integrity”.ย
“The inaction of the Canadian Government on this matter has been a long-standing and continuing concern,” India’s Ministry of External Affairs had said.
Addressing a rising economic power, ending dependence on US
Aligned with Carneyโs vision of a more pragmatic foreign policy, Ottawa is seeking to reset ties and expand trade with the worldโs most populous nation, a 1.4 billion-strong economic power that could help reduce Canadaโs commercial reliance on the United States, which has grown less predictable under Donald Trump, the report stated.
With an eye on new partnerships and business prospects, ranging from oil and gas exports to artificial intelligence, the prime minister will depart Ottawa on Thursday for Mumbai and New Delhi. During the visit, he is scheduled to meet Indiaโs Hindu nationalist leader, Narendra Modi. The 9 day tour will also take him to Australia and Japan, it added.
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