New Delhi: Three-time Canadian MP and ruling Liberal Party member Chandra Arya has said he believes he has been barred from running in the upcoming general elections in Canada due to his “outspoken advocacy” for Hindu Canadians and firm stance against Sikh separatists.
Last week, in a post on X, Arya said that his nomination as a Liberal Party candidate for the upcoming general elections from his district of Nepean was “revoked”. He was also earlier barred from the race to replace former prime minister Justin Trudeau as the leader of the Liberal Party.
On Wednesday, Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail reported that the Liberal Party had barred Arya from both those contests because of foreign interference concerns emanating from his ties with India. It cited a “source with top-secret clearance”.
The concerns were linked specifically to a trip Arya made to India last year, when he met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Arya did not inform the Canadian government of the trip, the source told The Globe and Mail.
The trip came at a time when the ties between India and Canada were tense after Ottawa alleged that India had ties to the 2023 killing of Sikh separatist and Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
The Globe and Mail further reported that the “Canadian Security Intelligence Service had briefed the government about Mr. Arya’s alleged close ties to the government of India, including its High Commission in Ottawa. Liberal Party officials who have security clearances and had received a general CSIS briefing on foreign interference also had concerns about Mr. Arya, a Liberal source said.”
In a statement to the newspaper, Arya said, “The sole point of contention with the Liberal Party has been my outspoken advocacy on issues important to Hindu Canadians and my firm stance against Khalistani extremism.”
“As a Member of Parliament, I have engaged with numerous diplomats and heads of government, both in Canada and internationally. Not once have I sought—nor been required to seek—permission from the government to do so,” he added. “At no point did former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau or any cabinet minister raise concerns about my meetings or public statements.”
The Liberal Party has instead selected its leader and the incumbent PM Mark Carney to represent Arya’s riding (electoral district) of Nepean, which is a part of the Canadian capital of Ottawa.
Carney, who replaced Trudeau in the leadership race last month, called early elections for 28 April this week, against the backdrop of a trade war started by US President Donald Trump.
Arya has represented Nepean since 2015, when Trudeau swept through the polls with a governing majority. He retained his seat in the two subsequent elections, held in 2019 and 2021. The Nepean MP has consistently raised the issue of the vandalisation of Hindu temples in Canada and spoken out against political space being given to alleged Sikh separatists.
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Outspoken on issues relating to Hindu Canadians
In October 2024, Arya expressed concerns over growing extremism in Canada, specifically Sikh separatism, and alleged that Hindu Canadians were increasingly living in fear. He lamented that the Hindu community living in the country had received little assurance from the Canadian government at the time.
Arya has also in the past refused to give consent for a motion in the Canadian House of Commons to condemn the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in India as “genocide”. He was allegedly threatened by fellow Liberal MP Sukh Dhaliwal and “accosted” unnamed MP as a result of his stance, The Globe and Mail reported.
In his 21 March post, Arya shared the letter from the Liberal Party informing him that he had been barred from running for a 4th term.
“After careful consideration of your eligibility to serve as a Candidate for the Liberal Party of Canada in the riding of Nepean. After careful consideration, based on a review of new information of the Green Light Committee, the National Campaign Co-Chair is recommending the revocation of your status as a Candidate,” the letter dated 20 March said.
“Unfortunately, based on that recommendation, your status as a Candidate for the Liberal Party of Canada has been revoked.”
Similarly, on 26 January, Arya announced in a post on X that he was told “by the Liberal Party of Canada that I will not be permitted to enter the leadership race”.
The Liberal Party did not give any reason for either of these decisions.
The development comes at a time when a Canadian inquiry on foreign interference has alleged that India is the “second-largest” state actor active in interfering in the North American country’s elections. New Delhi has rejected the charge.
The report, published earlier this week, alleged that Indian officials or proxy agents have provided and “may continue” to provide illicit financing for political candidates in an attempt to “secure” pro-Indian elected officials.
Among other allegations, Canadian intelligence has also claimed that Indian agents were involved in fundraising and organising in support of Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre in the party’s 2022 leadership race. Poilievre is Carney’s main rival in the 28 April elections. They could not determine, however, if this had any impact on the result.
Ties between India and Canada nosedived after Trudeau alleged India’s involvement in the Nijjar’s killing. The Indian designated terrorist was killed outside a gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, in June 2023. India has rejected the allegations as “motivated and absurd”. Last October, as relations worsened, India withdrew their High Commissioner to Canada and five other diplomats while expelling six Canadian diplomats.
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)
For members of the Indian diaspora, fealty to the Oath of Allegiance should remain sacrosanct. This was a concern expressed as far back as the time of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. No dual citizenship, no dual loyalties. Or even they suspicion that they exist. Foreign intelligence services now monitor these things very closely.