The reckless, undiplomatic and irresponsible accusations against the Government of India by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau leave New Delhi with no choice but to pay Ottawa back in the same coin. Six Canadian diplomats have been asked to leave India by this weekend, and senior Indian diplomats have been withdrawn from Canada over safety concerns. This includes India’s High Commissioner to Canada Sanjay Verma, who is reportedly on the hit list of pro-Khalistan terrorists.
When the Prime minister of Canada alleges the Indian government’s involvement in the killing of a Sikh separatist turned Canadian citizen, his misplaced love for terrorist elements to ensure his vote bank is evident. This will eventually lead to Trudeau’s political obliteration, and take India-Canada relations to the stone age. The naming of High Commissioner Verma and other Indian diplomats as ‘persons of interest’ in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar is a step in that direction.
It is unfortunate that Canada has been neglecting the need to be security conscious vis-à-vis India and failed to nip the Khalistan movement in the bud. The 1985 Air India Kanishka bomb blast, which killed all 329 people on board, is a strong example of the anti-India conspiracies brewing on Canadian soil. The probe into this bombing was shoddily handled by the security agencies in Canada, and the culprits were not only protected but also acquitted later
Identify real threats first
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) is the country’s foreign intelligence service and security agency, responsible for gathering, processing, and analysing national security information from around the world and conducting covert operations within Canada and abroad.
According to reports, CSIS was allegedly aware of the plot to bomb Kanishka. It had a mole among the plotters who blew the flight, and hurriedly withdrew him to save him from being implicated in the heinous crime. As these skeletons tumbled out of CSIS’ cupboard – merely hours after the Canadian PM’s interference allegations – Trudeau made a crucial reappointment. He handpicked Daniel Rogers, former deputy national security adviser of Canada, as the CSIS’ new director.
Rogers has replaced David Vigneault, who retired from the spy service after seven years to join the United States-based intelligence firm Strider. It’s the same David Vigneault who called out his country’s slow response to foreign interference recently. According to the National Post, he testified for a second time to the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference Commission that China interfered “clandestinely and deceptively” in the 2019 and 2021 Canadian federal elections. He admitted that even though this interference did not impact the elections’ outcome, it showed that the government was lagging behind its G7 allies when it came to fighting foreign interference effectively, and that there are “no consequences, legal or political”.
Trudeau needs to do some serious soul-searching and identify Canada’s real adversaries rather than barking up the wrong tree.
Also read: Justin Trudeau is rewriting Nijjar killing as a morality play. The real story is more complex
Trudeau’s vote-bank politics
Indian diplomats have every reason to meet Canadian politicians and brief them on threats from pro-Khalistan elements who commit crimes in India and take refuge in Canada under socio-religious garb. Instead of acting on this information, the Justin Trudeau government has been sheltering these dangerous elements to further its vote bank politics.
Trudeau had a brief interaction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the recently concluded Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Vientiane, Laos, which amounted to “nothing substantive”. Modi’s counterpart failed to act on New Delhi’s expectations that “anti-India Khalistani activities will not be allowed to take place on Canadian soil and that firm action, which is lacking thus far, will be taken against those advocating violence, extremism and terrorism against India from Canadian territory.”
Trudeau’s assertions that Canada fully respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India are not only false but patently untrue. His government didn’t really stop, for instance, the “Khalistan referendum” that was held at the Calgary Municipal Plaza in July 2024 and reportedly saw over 55,000 voters.
New Delhi, as well as the business community in India, cannot possibly normalise the situation as long as the Trudeau government continues with its tactics. Canada is to the Khalistan movement what Qatar is to Hamas. Both are playing with fire.
The 45th Canadian Federal elections are scheduled to be held in October 2025. But fearing a coup within his party, Trudeau may go for a snap election as he did in 2021. This could be one of the reasons for his panic attempts to shore up support among the Sikh separatist elements who form a big chunk of his vote bank given the unique electoral system of Canada.
Out of 153 Liberal caucus MPs loyal to Trudeau, 20 to 40 are reportedly willing to put their names on a pledge calling on the PM to quit. The others are sticking to power even as they’re unsure about getting elected under Trudeau’s leadership. One thing is clear, thus: only a change of government in Canada could reset relations with India and restore normality. And New Delhi should wait and watch till then.
The author is the former editor of ‘Organiser’. He tweets @seshadrichari. Views are personal.
(Edited by Zoya Bhatti)