India no longer linked to violent crimes in Canada: Ottawa softens stance ahead of Mark Carney's visit

In a marked shift from its stance over the recent years, the Canadian government now believes that India is no longer linked to the violent crimes taking place in Canada, a senior official said. The official's statement came ahead of Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney's trip to India. 

During his India trip, Carney will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and sign new partnerships in areas ranging from oil and gas exports to artificial intelligence. 

“We have a very robust diplomatic engagement, including between national security advisers, and I think we can say we’re confident that that activity is not continuing,” one of the senior officials was quoted as saying by the Toronto Star. 

Officials further said that previous concerns about alleged foreign interference and repression in Canada by agents linked to the Indian government no longer apply. 

“I really don’t think we’d be taking this trip if we thought these kinds of activities were continuing,” a senior government official said. 

In a statement later in the day, the Prime Minister's Office said that the government would continue to battle transnational repression, organised crime, and criminal acts. While it did not retract the official's remarks, it emphasised that respect for the law is critical to Canada's efforts with India. 

“Respect for the ongoing law enforcement dialogue will continue to be the basis of our step-by-step approach to re-engagement with India,” the statement said.

Canada's ties with India were at their lowest during the tenure of Carney's predecessor, Justin Trudeau. Trudeau had squarely blamed Indian agents for the murder of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia in 2023. 

Jody Thomas, who served as Trudeau's national security adviser from 2022 to 2024, said that Canadian officials laid out their intelligence about Nijjar's killing for Indian officials before Trudeau accused Indian officials in his Parliament address in September 2023.

“They have seen enough to understand why we are concerned and why we continue to investigate,” said Thomas. She explained that in Canada, the evidence and allegations are not "unsealed" for public view before a trial is conducted. 

Thomas mentioned that this led Indian officials to deny involvement and challenge Ottawa to furnish proof and deflect to "the domestic problem" that New Delhi sees about Sikh extremism in Canada, a position India maintains to this day. 

“The intelligence is enough for accountability and responsibility to be assigned,” Thomas said, adding that the security concerns remain “very much a live issue that has to be resolved.” 

At the same time, she said that India and Canada need to reach an understanding over New Delhi's concerns of Sikh extremism and criminal separatist activity in Canada. Jody Thomas, however, said that it is still possible to have discussions with India over trade and people-to-people ties. 

Moreover, Carney's international trade minister, Maninder Sidhu, told the Toronto Star that he is aware of concerns about crime in his constituency, Brampton East, which is reporting a rise in extortion cases. 

Sidhu said that officials of both countries recently agreed to collaborate on law enforcement and appoint "liaison officers" in each other's countries. 

“I do believe we can do two things at the same time. We can keep our community safe. We can have a law enforcement dialogue. … and we can continue to engage with partners around the world economically,” Sidhu said.