Diplomats expelled, trade talks on hold: How India-Canada ties have plunged to new lows

The relations between India and Canada have drastically plunged to a new low. New Delhi on Tuesday (19 September) directed a senior Canadian diplomat to leave India hours after Ottawa expelled India’s top intelligence agent. “The High Commissioner of Canada to India was summoned today and informed about the decision of the Government of India to expel a senior Canadian diplomat based in India. The concerned diplomat has been asked to leave India within the next five days. The decision reflects Government of India’s growing concern at the interference of Canadian diplomats in our internal matters and their involvement in anti-India activities,” the ministry of external affairs (MEA) said in a statement.

MEA says, "The High Commissioner of Canada to India was summoned today and informed about the decision of the Government of India to expel a senior Canadian diplomat based in India. The concerned diplomat has been asked to leave India within the next five days. The decision… pic.twitter.com/E3Uf9HVQLN

— ANI (@ANI) September 19, 2023

This comes after Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, on Monday (18 September) said his government suspected a “potential link” between Indian government agents to the murder of a Sikh separatist leader in British Columbia in June. The Trudeau government also expelled the head of the India’s intelligence agency in Canada over the issue. In a sharp retort, India dismissed Canada’s charge as “absurd and motivated”. These new developments come days after Trudeau’s rocky visit to India for the G20 Summit earlier in September. Let’s take a look at what’s happening and how ties between India and Canada have deteriorated in recent years. India rubbishes Canada’s allegations Trudeau in an emergency statement told the House of Commons that Canadian security agencies are “actively pursuing credible allegations” linking Indian government agents to the killing of Khalistan Tiger Force chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar on 18 June in Surrey. Nijjar, who was shot dead outside a Gurdwara in the Vancouver suburb, was designated a “terrorist” by India in July 2020. “Canadian security agencies have been actively pursuing credible allegations of a potential link between agents of the government of India” and Nijjar’s death, the Canadian premier was quoted as saying by Reuters. “Canada has declared its deep concerns to the top intelligence and security officials of the Indian government. Last week at the G20 I brought them personally and directly to Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi in no uncertain terms,” he added. [caption id=“attachment_13140952” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Hardeep Singh Nijjar was killed outside Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in June in Surrey. Reuters File Photo[/caption] India rejected Canada’s allegations, asking the country to take legal action against “anti-Indian elements operating from its soil”. “Such unsubstantiated allegations seek to shift the focus from Khalistani terrorists and extremists, who have been provided shelter in Canada and continue to threaten India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The inaction of the Canadian Government on this matter has been a long-standing and continuing concern,” the MEA said in its statement. “We urge the government of Canada to take prompt and effective legal action against all anti-India elements operating from their soil,” the foreign ministry said. Hit pause on trade talks Just days after Trudeau’s tumultuous visit to Delhi for the G20 Summit, India and Canada “paused” talks on a bilateral free trade agreement. A senior government official said that negotiations on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) are likely to resume after the political issues between the two countries are resolved. “There were certain political developments in Canada on which India has also raised its objection… for the time being (till) these political developments are settled, we have paused the negotiations with Canada. But the moment these political issues are sorted out, the talks will resume. It is only a pause. There is no break, there is only pause,” the official told Indian Express. India is Canada’s tenth largest trading partner and the two nations have been aiming for a trade deal for a decade now, noted The Guardian. The Canadian government has also indefinitely postponed a trade mission to India scheduled for October. Souring relations visible at G20 The low in India and Canada’s relations were out in the open during the G20 Summit . During a ‘pull aside’ meeting with Trudeau on the sidelines of the high-profile conclave, Prime Minister Modi expressed concern over “anti-India activities of extremist elements” in Canada. India’s foreign ministry said in a press release after the meet, “He (PM Modi) conveyed our strong concerns about continuing anti-India activities of extremist elements in Canada. They are promoting secessionism and inciting violence against Indian diplomats, damaging diplomatic premises, and threatening the Indian community in Canada and their places of worship”. “The nexus of such forces with organised crime, drug syndicates and human trafficking should be a concern for Canada as well. It is essential for the two countries to cooperate in dealing with such threats.” The MEA highlighted that mutual respect and trust were “essential for the progress of India-Canada relationship”. While Trudeau’s office said that the Canadian prime minister had raised the importance of “respecting the rule of law, democratic principles and national sovereignty”, as per Scroll. On why his public interactions with his Indian counterpart were “awkward and stilted”, Trudeau told reporters he emphasised “respecting the rule of law”. “Canada will always defend freedom of expression, freedom of conscience and freedom of peaceful protest, and it’s extremely important to us. At the same time we are always there to prevent violence and to push back against hatred. On the issue of a community, it’s important to remember that the actions of a few didn’t represent the whole community or Canada,” he said, as per Scroll. [caption id=“attachment_13140962” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Canada’s PM Justin Trudeau met PM Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the G20 Summit. PTI[/caption] As per reports, Canada’s request for a bilateral was rejected by Delhi and only a ‘pull aside’ meeting was held between Modi and Trudeau. During the G20 Summit, the media reported that Trudeau was “snubbed” not only by India but also by other world leaders. He was also reportedly missing from the dinner for the G20 leaders hosted by President Droupadi Murmu on 9 September, with his office refusing to give a reason for his absence. Trudeau also made headlines as he was stuck in India for two days after the G20 Summit as his CC 150 Polaris aircraft, also known as the ‘Flying Taj Mahal’, suffered a “maintenance problem”. The Khalistan issue The Khalistan issue is a major thorn between India and Canada’s relations. While India believes Canada is “soft” on Khalistani extremism, the North American country accuses New Delhi of “interference” in its domestic politics. “For us, how Canada has dealt with the Khalistani issue has been a long-standing concern. Because, very frankly, they seem to be driven by vote-bank politics,” EAM S Jaishankar said in June. Canada is home to the highest population of Sikhs outside India’s Punjab. It also has one of the largest Indian diaspora, comprising 1.4 million out of the total Canadian population of 40 million, reported Reuters.  The Indian diplomats have also often raised the issue of the vandalism of Hindu temples in Canada allegedly by pro-Khalistani groups. In June, India made a diplomatic protest when a video from Canada showing the assassination of former prime minister Indira Gandhi being ‘celebrated’ surfaced. A placard on the tableau read: “Revenge for attack on Shri Darbar Sahib.” Canadian authorities said that the tableau was not a “hate crime”, noted Scroll.  India has also objected to Canada allowing Khalistani leaders and outfits to organise “referendums” seeking an independent state for Indian Sikhs. When Modi and Trudeau met on 10 September, a Khalistan referendum was held in Surrey at the Guru Nanak gurdwara where Nijjar was shot dead, reported The Tribune. New Delhi has been wary of the Khalistan movement flourishing in Canada, especially with respect to its connection with organised criminal gangs in India and Canada, reported Hindustan Times. “This nexus between some Canada-based radicals and gangsters provides the former with ‘foot soldiers’ in India, a luxury they did not enjoy earlier,” an official told the newspaper last year. Meanwhile, Canada has accused India of interfering in its domestic politics. “The Canadian government, in turn, has alleged that India – as is China – is interfering in Canada’s domestic politics, essentially through the diaspora,” Sushant Singh, a lecturer in political science at Yale University, told Scroll. Terry Milewski, a Canadian journalist, believes the ties between the two nations can be salvaged once Trudeau is out of power. “Indian politicians probably need to look beyond Trudeau and consider how we’re going to steer this ship to a safe harbour after Trudeau is gone,” Milewski told Mojo Story earlier this month, predicting Trudeau’s defeat in the next elections. For now, it remains to be seen if India and Canada will work to resolve these issues or a stalemate will continue. With inputs from agencies