Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to visit Canada next week, his first since relations plummeted after the assassination of a Canadian Sikh separatist in Vancouver, triggering diplomatic expulsions and hitting trade.
Analysts hope it is a step toward repairing ties that soured in 2023, after then-Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau pointed the finger at New Delhi’s involvement in murdering Hardeep Singh Nijjar, claims India furiously denied.
An invitation extended by new Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to Modi to attend the G7 leaders summit in Canada offers a chance to “reset” relations, former Indian diplomat Harsh Vardhan Shringla said.
Photo: AFP/ Indian Press Information Bureau/ Handout
“This is a new moment,” The Asia Group India Practice chair Ashok Malik said. “A gesture has been made by Canada and it has been reciprocated by India.”
India is not a member of the G7, but is the world’s most populous nation and fifth-biggest economy has been invited to summits since 2019.
The invitation is also a pragmatic reflection of India’s role in global supply chains as an alternative to China, and with markets rocked by threats of punishing US tariffs.
“India is being called to the G7, because of its weight and size as an economy,” Malik said.
Modi’s visit comes as Ottawa seeks to insulate its economy from the trade policies of US President Donald Trump — who is also expected at the summit.
Modi would have his eye on Trump, with an expected meeting to push a trade deal with the US — India’s largest trading partner — before the July 9 deadline when Washington’s 26 percent tariffs are set to resume.
“For Canada, mutually beneficial ties with India make sense today, given how the Trump administration has upended Washington-Ottawa ties,” the Times of India wrote in an editorial. “Add to this Trump’s propensity to weaponize tariffs, and both India and Canada have enough reasons to cooperate on trade.”
SENSE OF BETRAYAL
The unsolved investigation into the 2023 assassination of 45-year-old naturalized Canadian citizen Nijjar remains.
Canada is home to the largest Sikh community outside India. That community includes activists for “Khalistan,” a fringe separatist movement seeking an independent state for the religious minority carved out of Indian territory.
The Khalistan campaign dates back to India’s 1947 independence and has been blamed for the assassination of a prime minister and the bombing of a passenger jet.
It has been a bitter issue between India and several Western nations with large Sikh populations.
New Delhi demands stricter action against the Khalistan movement, which is banned in India, with key leaders accused of “terrorism.”
Nijjar was a prominent supporter of the Khalistan movement.
Canada has accused India of directing a broad campaign targeting Sikh activists on Canadian soil, which Ottawa said has included intimidation, threats and violence.
Protests would be expected at Modi’s visit, as Carney’s invitation has inflamed fringe Canadian Sikh groups who expressed “anger and a sense of betrayal.”
CHANCE FOR CHANGE
India sees Carney’s leadership as a chance to put aside the fury that was directed at Trudeau, and discuss the Nijjar probe and Indian concerns over criminal gangs linked to fringe groups that operate in both countries.
“India has always offered that, with these issues on the table, we need to increase cooperation to ensure mutual interests and security concerns are protected,” Shringla said.
He also called Carney “a very mature individual” who views issues “from a larger perspective.”
Still, Modi’s trip is only a first step, The Hindu newspaper said.
“It would be naive to imagine that these issues can be resolved in a summit,” it said in an editorial on Thursday, adding that it was “imperative” that ambassadors were restored and trade talks restarted.
“India and Canada must use every opportunity to reset ties,” it said.
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