India, Canada in touch about state of ties, MEA tells Parliament

New Delhi: India and Canada are in touch with each other to ease the strains in bilateral ties, which hit a new low last month with both sides expelling each other’s diplomats.

The governments of the two nations are working to cool the tempers after Canada recently created some space for diplomatic engagements by publicly clarifying that it had no evidence to link Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval with the “criminal activities” it had accused the Government of India of orchestrating in the North American country.

“The two governments are in touch regarding the state of their bilateral ties,” Kirti Vardhan Singh, the Minister of State for External Affairs, informed the Rajya Sabha in a written reply to a query from YSR Congress’s MP, Parimal Nathwani, on Thursday. He, however, added that respect for each other’s concerns, territorial integrity, and sovereignty was essential for a stable bilateral relationship.

Singh also stated that New Delhi had repeatedly urged Ottawa to take prompt and effective action against anti-India elements operating from Canada. “This includes preventing secessionist and extremist elements from glorifying the assassination of our leaders; issuing threats to our current political leadership and diplomats; disrespecting and vandalizing places of worship; and espousing for the balkanization of India by holding so-called ‘referendums’,” he informed the Rajya Sabha.

New Delhi last month withdrew Sanjay Verma, the High Commissioner of Canada to India, and five of his colleagues in the North American country after turning down Ottawa’s request for waiving their diplomatic immunity and making them available for questioning by the police investigators in connection with the murder of Khalistani Sikh terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. India also retaliated by expelling six diplomats of Canada.

Nijjar had been murdered at the parking lot of a gurdwara in the British Columbia province of Canada on June 18, 2023. Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau had on September 18, 2023, first publicly claimed that his government had ‘credible information’ about the role of the Government of India in the killing.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) last month alleged that the criminal network led by gangster Lawrence Bishnoi was connected to the “agents” of the Government of India and was targeting the South Asian community, specifically the ones in favour of carving out a ‘Khalistan’ from India.

Ottawa also alleged that Home Minister Amit Shah ordered agencies of the Government of India to carry out operations targeting Khalistani Sikh extremists in Canada.

But Trudeau’s government last week quickly dismissed media reports that Modi, Jaishankar, and Doval had also been aware of the alleged criminal activities by the agents of the Government of India in Canada.

The quick rebuttal to the media reports by Trudeau’s National Security Advisor, Nathalie Drouin, created scope for the diplomats of the two nations to explore ways to de-escalate tension and move towards mending fences, sources in New Delhi said, adding that while it would take a long time to bring the relations back on track, arresting the slide would be the immediate priority for both sides.

Modi and Trudeau were seen having a brief chat with United States President Joe Biden during the photo shoot of the leaders of the G20 nations at the end of the summit of the premier forum for international economic cooperation in Rio de Janeiro last week.

It was, however, not clear if Biden sought to mediate between Modi and Trudeau.

Nearly 1.8 million Indo-Canadians account for about 4.7 per cent of the population of the North American country, which also hosts another 1 million comprising Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), including approximately 427,000 students.

“Canada hosts one of the largest Indian diasporas abroad. As such, the welfare, safety, and security of Indian nationals in Canada is of utmost importance to the Government of India," Singh told the upper house of Parliament of India on Thursday.

The bilateral trade was worth $9.36 billion in 2023, with India’s exports to Canada at $5.56 billion and imports from Canada at $3.8 billion. India’s share of Canadian Pension Funds is estimated at 25 per cent of their Asia-Pacific investment portfolio. Canada is the 17th largest investor in India with a cumulative FDI of $3.9 billion.