india-canada-relations-decline-again-a-repeating-history

India-Canada ties have always been contentious, barring patches during the terms of Prime Ministers Jean Chretien (1993 -2003) and Stephen Harper (2006- 2015).

 

News Arena India Editor-in-Chief Naveen S Garewal recaps moments from recent history, highlighting the highs and lows in this complex relationship.

 

The relationship between India and Canada has deteriorated significantly following the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar on June 18, 2023. This event marked a turning point in the already strained bilateral relations, leading to diplomatic confrontations and retaliatory measures. It is the second time in just over a year that the two countries have put diplomacy to sleep.

 

Driven by moderate trade and the presence of about two million Indian immigrants, alongside four and a half lakh students (30 per cent of foreign students in Canada), India-Canada ties have historically not been strong, except during the terms of Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien (1993–2003) and Stephen Harper (2006 to 2015).

 

In recent times, India has accused Canada of being overly sympathetic towards a Sikh separatist movement. Canada, on the other hand, has accused Indian officials of interfering in the affairs of Sikhs with Canadian citizenship on Canadian soil.

 

The recent low in the relationship between the two countries resulted from a statement made by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Parliament, claiming that Ottawa was pursuing “credible allegations” from its intelligence against New Delhi for playing a role in the assassination of Nijjar. India has reacted strongly, stating that the information can be either credible or merely unsubstantiated allegations. Canada has so far failed to share any credible evidence from the reports of the Canadian Police.

 

This slanging match in September 2023 resulted in both countries expelling senior diplomats from each other’s sides last year, after which Canada also suspended visa services in India. This move effectively halted travel between the two countries for many individuals, impacting tourism, business, and family visits.

 

A year later, India and Canada are exactly where they were in September last year after Canada was summoned. The fresh row began when Canada claimed it had evidence of Indian diplomats’ involvement in the murder of Nijjar. In a chain reaction that followed, both sides quickly expelled each other’s diplomats. The strained relations between the two countries have been evident from the body language of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, first at the G20 summit in India and then at the ASEAN Summit in Laos.

India-no longer silent over Canadian aggressions

 

India has not taken kindly to the indications from Canadian authorities that Indian diplomats were being investigated for potential ties to the Nijjar assassination case. In April 2015, during PM Modi's visit to Canada, both countries expressed a commitment to improving their ties and boosting bilateral trade to £15 billion annually. However, the last decade has seen one contentious issue after another hindering the achievement of these trade goals.

 

In Canada, where Trudeau's Liberal Party is in a minority position, it has had to rely on the support of Sikh hardliners such as Jagmeet Singh’s New Democratic Party (NDP). In September, the NDP withdrew its support from the Liberals, leading to speculation about whether the Liberals would last a full term until October 2025. The NDP has accused the Liberal Party of failing to address vital issues concerning the populace.

 

Like Justin Trudeau, during the term of his father, former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau (PM between 1980 and 1984), India’s relations with Canada saw a dip. After a nuclear explosion in Pokhran, the then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi wanted to announce to the world that India had arrived on the nuclear scene. 

 

Pierre Trudeau condemned it as an act of “betrayal” since the plutonium used was produced by the Canadian-aided nuclear reactor CIRUS, straining relations between the two nations. When India asked Canada to refrain from supporting the Khalistanis, Pierre Trudeau, upset by Indian actions in Pokhran, remained indifferent.

When Indo-Canadian relations thawed, but not for too long

 

It was in 1996 when PM Jean Chrétien (in office since 1993) visited India, that India-Canada relations began to thaw. He visited the Golden Temple in Amritsar and inaugurated Canada's Consulate in Chandigarh in an attempt to appease the Sikhs in Canada as well as improve relations with India. It was at this time that three Sikhs from the Indian diaspora—Herb Dhaliwal, Gurbax Singh Malhi, and Jag Bhaduria—were chosen as candidates for the ruling Liberal Party in the House of Commons. This bonhomie was short-lived, however, as Canada imposed sanctions on India after Pokhran I and II in May 1998 and closed its High Commission in India.

 

Taking advantage of the dip in relations, Sikh militants found Canada to be a secure country in which to pursue their Khalistan dreams.

 

During this see-saw relationship, Canada’s accusations of Indian diplomats being linked to the killing of Nijjar have further damaged diplomatic ties. Bomb scares on Canada-bound flights and untoward incidents have further set back normalcy between the two countries, where a significant portion of the population has ties and interests on both sides.

 

Occasionally, Trudeau has made statements on India’s internal affairs, such as during the farmer protests in 2020. This has not gone down well with India, though it may have boosted his political prospects in Canada.

Time for India to be acknowledged

Today, from trade to immigration, the entire India-Canada relationship has come to a grinding halt. It is time for the world to realise that India in 2024 was not the India of the 1960s when it depended on the developed world for aid and support. India has come of age and has the capabilities to defend its interests across continents. It’s time the world looks at India with respect and treats it as an equal nation, removing the label of a “developing country.”