'He wants to restore maturity': Ex-Pentagon official on Mark Carney's invite to PM Modi for G7, contrasts his approach with that of Trudeau's

Former Pentagon official Michael Rubin on Wednesday said that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney wants to restore maturity to India-Canada relations. He was commenting on Carney's invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the upcoming G7 Summit in Canada. 

The summit, which will be attended by key global leaders, will take place from June 15-17 in Alberta's Kananaskis. 

Rubin also explained the stark contrast between Mark Carney and former Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, even though both leaders belong to the same political outfit. 

"Canadian PM Mark Carney originally is a banker. He understands the importance of India, and he also understands the importance of facts and reality. Justin Trudeau was a politician who peddled in image and imagination, and therefore it makes sense that Carney wants to restore maturity to the relationship," Rubin told news agency ANI. 

He also had a word of advice for PM Modi ahead of the G7 Summit in Canada. "It actually makes sense for Prime Minister Modi to show that the problem was not Canada itself, but the immaturity and unprofessionalism of Justin Trudeau." 

Last week, Mark Carney invited Modi to the upcoming global event slated to take place in Canada. Responding to Carney's invite, PM Modi said that he was elated to receive his call and congratulated the former banker on his election victory. 

“As vibrant democracies bound by deep people-to-people ties, India and Canada will work together with renewed vigour, guided by mutual respect and shared interests. Look forward to our meeting at the summit,” Modi said in a statement.

Carney's invitation to Narendra Modi, however, has led to outrage from the World Sikh Organisation. World Sikh Organisation President Danish Singh said in a statement that the invite to PM Modi is "a betrayal, not just of our community, but of core Canadian values."

Prime Minister Carney’s decision to invite Narendra Modi, while India continues to deny any role in the assassination of Bhai Hardeep Singh Nijjar and refuses to cooperate with Canadian authorities, is both shameful and dangerous,” Singh said.

“We would never welcome leaders from Russia, China, or Iran under such circumstances. Yet India has done far more on Canadian soil in terms of foreign interference and transnational repression, including orchestrating murders, and is being rewarded with a red carpet welcome.”

On Friday, Carney defended his decision to invite Modi to the upcoming G7 Summit, which will take place in Alberta.

Defending his decision to invite PM Modi to the global event, Mark Carney said that India was the "fifth largest economy in the world, the most populous country in the world, and central to supply chains".

He said that despite the ongoing probe into Hardeep Singh Nijjar's killing, it was important to invite PM Modi to discuss energy, artificial intelligence and critical minerals. 

Ties between India and Canada got strained in 2023 when the then Canadian PM Justin Trudeay accused Indian government officials of orchestrating the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Canadian agencies also said that India was allegedly involved in extortion, gang violence and intimidation.

Canada and India expelled each other's top diplomats last year over Nijjar's killing.