India on Thursday officially announced the appointment of Dinesh K Patnaik, a 1990-batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, as the next High Commissioner to Canada. Patnaik is currently serving as the Ambassador to Spain and is expected to take up his new role shortly, according to a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
This new appointment comes more than 10 months after India withdrew its previous High Commissioner, Sanjay Kumar Verma, from Ottawa. The decision to recall Verma was a direct result of heightened diplomatic tensions between the two countries, which were triggered by former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s public accusations against India.
In October 2024, Trudeau made a statement in the Canadian Parliament alleging "credible allegations" of the Indian government's involvement in the killing of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. These accusations led to a significant diplomatic fallout. In a reciprocal move, Canada declared India’s High Commissioner and other diplomats as "persons of interest" in its investigation.
India vehemently denied the allegations, labelling them as "absurd" and "motivated". The MEA also accused the Canadian government of providing a safe haven for extremist and anti-India groups. At the time, the MEA stated that it had "no faith in the Canadian Government’s commitment" to ensure the safety of Indian diplomats and warned that it reserved the right to take further action.
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The diplomatic strain was further exacerbated by Khalistani extremists in Canada openly targeting Hindu individuals and places of worship. This prompted strong public remarks from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who criticised the Trudeau government for its perceived leniency towards these groups.
Relations between the two nations have shown signs of improvement since Mark Carney took office as Canadian Prime Minister. In June, Carney extended an invitation to Prime Minister Modi to attend the G7 Outreach Summit in Kananaskis. The two leaders held a crucial bilateral meeting during the summit, which was described by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri as "very positive and constructive".
During their meeting, both leaders reached an agreement to take "calibrated steps" to stabilise the relationship. The first of these steps was to restore the positions of High Commissioners in each other's capitals at the earliest opportunity. Misri noted that "other diplomatic steps will follow in due course," signalling a shared commitment to normalising ties. The appointment of Dinesh K. Patnaik is a key part of this ongoing effort.
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