Just as signs of a thaw were emerging in strained India-Canada relations, the establishment of an “embassy” promoting the Khalistan cause on Canadian soil risks undermining a potential diplomatic reset.
Radical Sikh elements in Canada’s British Columbia province have set up what they call the “Embassy of the Republic of Khalistan”, photographs of which have been accessed. The self-styled embassy has been established within a section of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey.
The gurdwara was once headed by Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, whose killing in 2023 plunged bilateral ties into a deep freeze. Nijjar was shot dead in the car park of the same gurdwara.
The symbolic installation openly supports Nijjar and coincides with preparations for a “Khalistan referendum” organised by the banned group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ). Indian security agencies are closely monitoring developments, sources said.
The move threatens to derail recent gestures aimed at rapprochement between the two countries, including the first in-person meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and newly elected Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney during the G7 summit earlier this year.
Both sides had signalled a willingness to move past the diplomatic rupture triggered by Nijjar’s killing and former Canadian PM Justin Trudeau’s unproven allegations of Indian government involvement — claims New Delhi has categorically rejected.
India has long voiced concern over Khalistani elements using Canada as a base for promoting separatism, raising funds, or planning violence primarily targeting India.
It has repeatedly criticised Ottawa for not acting against such groups, a grievance dating back to the 1985 Air India bombing that killed 329 people.
The symbolic Khalistan “embassy” is, for New Delhi, yet another example of Ottawa’s failure to act against groups it considers a threat to its national security.
Notably, India’s warnings have now been echoed in Canada’s own intelligence assessments.
In June, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) publicly acknowledged, for the first time, the threat posed by Khalistani extremists operating from Canadian soil.
In its annual report, CSIS said Canada-based Khalistani extremists (CBKEs) remain a long-standing source of politically motivated violent extremism (PMVE).
While no CBKE-linked attacks were reported in 2024, the agency warned that such actors continue to engage in financing, facilitating, and plotting violence abroad.
It also marked the first time Canadian authorities officially linked the term “extremism” to the Khalistan movement.
The CSIS report came amid an ongoing investigation into Nijjar’s killing. Four individuals were arrested in May 2024 and charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
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