Will Mark Carney be able to restore India-Canada ties?

Can Mark Carney restore ties between India and Canada?

Carney, 59, will succeed Justin Trudeau as Canada’s prime minister.

This after he won 85.9 per cent of the votes in the race to become the leader of the Liberal Party.

But can Carney restore ties between India and Canada?

Let’s take a closer look:

What has Carney said?

Carney has expressed optimism about getting the relationship with India back on track.

As per Times Now, Carney had vowed to rebuild ties with India while running for the post of Liberal Party leader.

“What Canada will be looking to do is to diversify our trading relationships with like-minded countries, and there are opportunities to rebuild the relationship with India,” Carney was quoted as saying by The Times of India.

“There needs to be a shared sense of values around that commercial relationship, and if I’m Prime Minister, I look forward to the opportunity to build that,” Carney added.

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Carney also has a link to India he can draw upon.

As per the newspaper, Carney till January was chair of the board at Brookfield Asset Management – a firm which has invested nearly $30 billion in India in real estate, infrastructure, and renewable energy.

What do experts say?

Experts have hailed Carney’s remarks on India.

Ritesh Malik, chair of the Canada-India Foundation (CIF), told Hindustan Times that given Carney’s “global perspective and recognition of strategic geopolitical importance” of India, “it’s plausible that his leadership could introduce a fresh approach to Canada-India relations, potentially fostering stronger economic and strategic ties between the two nations.”

Ex-Indian High Commissioner to Canada Ajay Bisaria told the newspaper that Carney “will not carry the India baggage of Trudeau.”

“Any new Prime Minister of Canada will have a natural opportunity to get off ramp from the current political deadlock with India: stabilise the relationship, exchange High Commissioners and finalise a trade agreement, given the broader geopolitical problems that Canada now has with the US and with China,” Bisaria added.

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However, others warned against too much optimism.

“We shouldn’t assume an automatic reset, it will still require work,” Vina Nadjibulla, vice-president of research and strategy at the Asia-Pacific Foundation of Canada, said.

Nadjibulla noted that both India and Canada are in “wait and see mode” related to the “political transition.”

However, she said Carney ought to be “able to recognise the value in the partnership.”

An uphill task

But Carney is facing an uphill task.

The India-Canada relationship has been deteriorating since 2018 when Trudeau made a disastrous trip to India.

Trudeau in 2020 made things worse when he expressed his concerns about India’s farmers protests – becoming the first world leader to voice his views on the issue.

Ties went into a tailspin after Trudeau in September 2023 controversially claimed “credible allegations” linking India to the killing of pro-Khalistan terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Canada also halted negotiations on the Early Progress Trade Agreement (EPTA).

Ties arguably reached their nadir in October 2024 when Canada claimed that then High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma and other officials were “persons of interest” in the investigation of the killing of Nijjar.

India derided the claim as a “preposterous imputations” and said it was part of the Trudeau regime’s political agenda.

India later withdrew Verma and the other officials and expelled six Canadian diplomats in response.

India has claimed that Canada continues to lend a sympathetic ear to pro-Khalistani forces.

With inputs from agencies