New Delhi: Once known for their disproportionate influence on Canadian politics—an influence that brought two close allies, Ottawa and New Delhi, to the brink of confrontation—Sikh separatists are now finding themselves increasingly in the minority and out of favour politically there.
The collapse of the New Democratic Party (NDP) led by Jagmeet Singh, a supporter of separatism in India, the return of Donald Trump to the US White House and the defeat of Conservatives at the polls, are events that have signalled the political setback faced by Sikh separatists in Canada at this point of time.
The biggest setback to the separatists was Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the G7 Summit in Alberta.
According to Ujjal Dosanjh, former Canadian federal minister of health, politicians, especially those invested in the politics of Indo-Canadians, are “weary” being seen with Sikh separatists.
“This is not a normal group (Sikh separatists) in Canada. They openly say they want to engage in violent activities vis-a-vis India,” Dosanjh told ThePrint.
Former Canadian PM and leader of the Conservatives, Stephen Harper, called on Ottawa earlier this month to mend ties with India, a call which has received furious pushback from groups tied to Sikh separatists, such as the World Sikh Organisation (WSO).
The Liberal Party, under previous PM Justin Trudeau, had elevated the political importance of the Sikh separatists to the highest of levels, going so far as to accuse India, without any direct evidence, of being behind the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
An India-designated terrorist, Nijjar was gunned down outside a gurdwara in British Columbia province on 18 June, 2023. Four Indians living in Canada have been charged with the killing, however, no links to the Indian government have yet been seen from the judicial proceedings.
Trudeau’s actions set off a diplomatic chill between New Delhi and Ottawa, which may be mended by Carney, after his invite to Modi to attend the G7 summit on 16 and 17 June.
Indian government sources said PM Modi’s acceptance of the invite and willingness to go to Canada shows India’s desire to mend relations with the nation.
Sikh separatists, according to Dosanjh, are an extremely small group of individuals among the larger Indo-Canadian community living in Canada, and within the Sikh community in particular. However, Sikh separatists, who have in the past called for violence against India and Indian diplomats, or for the dismemberment of the nation, have often been given a free pass under the guise of freedom of expression.
Temples have been vandalised and Indian consular camps have faced attacks, and the Canadian government, particularly under Trudeau, was perceived as doing nothing. Canadian parliamentarians rarely speak out against the Sikh separatists.
Conservatives banked on separatists too
When the election season started in Canada, the ruling Liberal Party was down 25 points in opinion polls against the Conservatives.
However, the Trump factor played a role in the reversal of fortunes.
The Trump presidency turned the Canadian elections into a “binary” choice between the two largest parties, which led to wipe-out of the NDP in the polls, according to Ajay Bisaria, India’s former high commissioner to Canada.
“The Conservative Party had a 25-point advantage over the Liberal Party in December 2024, and then came Trump. By calling Canada the 51st (US) state, and his actions, it became an existential issue for the Canadians and Mark Carney was seen as a saviour,” Bisaria told ThePrint.
Trump’s return has also woken up Ottawa to the need to diversify its ties, with a view towards the European Union (EU) and potentially India, pointed out the former envoy.
In the run-up to the elections, the Conservative Party too did not speak out against the Sikh separatists.
The Conservatives under Pierre Poilievre had sought their own share of Sikh separatist votes, however, it did not lead to victory. Poilievre, who had hoped to become the next PM of Canada at the start of 2025 and who had run a Trump-esque campaign, lost at the polls. He continues as the leader of the party, with no seat in the House of Commons.
“I have a feeling that the Conservatives will relook at their strategy, at least the nuance of its strategy. The Sikh separatists have been able to capture Canadian politics and have a disproportionate voice in Canada. This disproportionate voice became even louder when, politically, a party they supported—the NDP—elected Jagmeet Singh as its head. Now they have been wiped out,” explained Bisaria.
“The Conservatives, when they wanted to return to power, attempted to build a larger tent (including Sikh separatists). However, with the Liberals now taking a long term, more pragmatic view of ties with India, the Conservatives may also change their position.”
For Bisaria, the Conservative Party would unlikely want to lose its position as the party of international pragmatism to the Liberals, especially with Carney inviting Modi for the G7 summit. Poilievre had defended Carney’s invite, saying that India is a potential market and an important business partner.
NDP’s collapse
The NDP, which held 24 seats in the outgoing Canadian Parliament, and was key to propping up the Liberal government, was reduced to eight seats in the new House of Commons, with Singh losing his own seat.
With its victory of only eight seats, the party lost its official status in the House of Commons.
When Singh first took over the reins of the NDP in 2017, he refused to condemn the glorification of Talwinder Singh Parmar, the terrorist mastermind behind the 1985 bombing of Air India Flight 182, which left 329 people dead, and a second explosion at Tokyo airport which left two baggage handlers dead.
A few months later, Singh reversed his position and agreed that Parmar was behind the bombing, and rejected the glorification of the terrorist at gurdwaras in Canada.
However, with his past appearances at Sikh separatist rallies, Singh was seen as a leader backed by elements from the extreme fringes of the movement. Further, the 24 seats of his party ensured that Trudeau and the Liberals would remain in power. Singh’s support also extended to Trudeau torpedoing ties with India over the killing of Nijjar.
“There might be a reckoning (soon) in Canadian politics that politicians may need to stay away from such groups (Sikh separatists). These are groups that have survived on support from Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI),” said Dosanjh.
All three parties—Liberals, Conservatives and New Democrats—have courted the Sikh separatists for their potential vote, with both Trudeau and Poilievre attending rallies where shouts of “Khalistan Zindabad” were a common feature.
The new Parliament has a record of 22 members who are Punjabi in origin. Six of the new members are dastardhari (those who wear turbans) Sikhs, while six are women and the remaining 10 are from the Punjabi community, according to reports.
Over 60 candidates were of India-origin in this year’s election. The Conservatives had over 25 such candidates, while the Liberals had close to 20 candidates from the Indian community. A large number of those candidates were Punjabi in origin with a significant number of Sikhs as well.
Return of Liberal pragmatism
The collapse of the NDP and Carney’s ascendance to the top post in Canada with an almost majority has given Ottawa more breathing room to fix ties with India, Bisaria pointed out.
This was seen last week when Carney announced that India and Canada will resume law enforcement dialogue.
In essence, the Canadian PM had carved out the major irritant in ties—the killing of Nijjar—and separated it from the larger political conversation between the two leaders.
“Both India and Canada have pinned the blame (for chill in ties) on Trudeau. He (Trudeau) overemphasised the issue of Khalistani extremists and the accusation that India was behind the killing of Nijjar. Carney, however, has said this is a security issue which should not be dealt with at the political level,” said Bisaria.
This strategy is similar to the US’, which has left the case of the foiled plot to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, an India-designated terrorist, for the courts to decide and law enforcement to cooperate. The alleged plot to kill Pannun was foiled by the American authorities, with India pointing out that “rogue agents” were behind the action.
The space given to Carney has also allowed Ottawa to invite Modi to the G7 summit. The two leaders are further set to hold a bilateral meeting on the margins of the summit, which could see the two countries appoint high commissioners and potentially normalise ties to an extent.
The invite has created a furore among groups linked with Sikh separatism. The World Sikh Organisation in Canada, for example, has condemned the invite and said that it “caused outrage and pain” within the Sikh community in the nation.
The meeting between Carney and Modi would occur roughly a day or two before the anniversary of the killing of Nijjar, who was gunned down on 18 June, 2023.
The accusations by Trudeau of links between Indian government agents and the killing led to the lowest points in ties between the two countries.
Dosanjh highlighted that Sikh separatism in Canada has seen a decline over the years, pointing out that only 100 to 150 people appear at rallies today when, at points in time, especially after Operation Bluestar in 1984, some of such rallies witnessed close to 25,000 participants.
“However, Pakistan is continuing its policy of attempting to destabilise the state of Punjab. It continues to fund organisations towards that end. As long as that continues, you will have some elements of the movement alive in the west,” warned Dosanjh.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)