Relations between Canada and India continue to deteriorate. This week, the Canadian Government announced the expulsion of the Indian ambassador, Sanjay Kumar Verma, and five other diplomats from that country. Ottawa claims to have information linking these people to a series of criminal acts in Canada. The Government of Narendra Modi, which categorically denies these allegations, expelled the acting Canadian ambassador, Stewart Ross Wheeler, and five other members of the diplomatic corps in retaliation.
The crisis between Canada and India began to brew following the murder in British Columbia of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June 2023. Nijjar, with a Canadian passport, was a well-known member of the Sikh community and defended the independence of Punjab. Three months later, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared in a parliamentary session that the country’s security forces had information linking the Modi Government to this murder. New Delhi classified Trudeau’s words as “baseless” and denounced that Canada serves as a sanctuary for “terrorists and extremists.”
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said at that time that it was investigating other criminal actions against the Sikh community living in the country, in addition to requesting the cooperation of Indian security forces in the investigations. This Monday, the RCMP said Indian officers were behind a crackdown on members of the Sikh population in Canada; a plan that included “murders, extortion and violent acts.” According to the federal police force, these crimes were largely facilitated by the six expelled diplomats.
The Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that it sought to interrogate these people, but that for this it was necessary for India to withdraw their diplomatic immunity. Upon receiving a negative response to this request, Canada decreed his expulsion. Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly wrote on social media: “The safety of Canadians is the absolute priority of our Government. “The decision to expel these individuals was made based on tangible evidence collected by the RCMP in the Nijjar case.” India also announced this Monday the expulsion of the six Canadian diplomats in retaliation, stating that this whole matter is “absurd” and that it is due to “political purposes” on the part of the Trudeau Government.
In an appointment with the media on Monday afternoon in Ottawa, Justin Trudeau said he had raised the issue with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit held last week in Laos. However, the Canadian premier regretted the lack of cooperation on the part of the Indian security forces. Trudeau said that India made “a monumental mistake” by using its diplomats in this campaign, adding: “We will not tolerate a foreign government threatening or killing Canadian citizens on our territory.” For her part, Minister Joly specified that Canada is not seeking a diplomatic confrontation with the Asian power, but that it is impossible for her country to remain silent as a result of the information collected regarding these crimes.