Consular expulsions escalate Canada-India diplomatic tensions
Canada and India have mutually expelled each other’s diplomats over their escalating feud regarding a suspected breach of Canadian sovereignty by the Indian government.
On October 14, Canada expelled six Indian diplomats and consular officials following a federal police investigation that linked Indian government agents with activities that threatened the public safety of Canadians.
According to a press release from Global Affairs Canada, the six individuals were expelled after India refused to cooperate with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) after being asked to waive diplomatic and consular immunities. Due to ongoing public safety concerns for Canadians, Canada issued expulsion notices to those individuals.
The RCMP released a statement on October 14 linking Indian diplomatic officials with the coercion and threatening of individuals and businesses within Canada to collect intelligence for the Government of India, which they used to pursue a campaign of harassment and intimidation of South Asian communities in Canada.
In their statement, the RCMP explained why they shared this information with the public despite typically refraining from such disclosures. “It is not our normal process to publicly disclose information about ongoing investigations, in an effort to preserve their integrity. However, we feel it is necessary to do so at this time due to the significant threat to public safety in our country.”
The RCMP continued to address these safety concerns throughout their statement and even announced a serious threat to Canadians. “There is a violent extremism threat in Canada that Canada and India have been working on over the years. However, these threats are impacting Canada and India’s ability to collaborate.”
Diplomatic tensions rise following accusations linking India to Canadian Sikh leader’s death
The diplomatic spat began last year on September 18 when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused the government of India of playing a role in the death of Canadian Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Nijjar was shot and killed on June 18 last year outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia. He was a prominent Sikh separatist leader and a public advocate for Khalistan—an independent Sikh homeland in India’s Punjab region.
In response to the allegations, on September 21, 2023, India restricted the issuing of visas to Canadian citizens, citing the increased tensions between the two countries.
India restored visa services later in the year on November 22, amidst a calming of the dispute. However, according to immigration consultant Jennie McCahill, with the increasing tensions between the two countries due to the situation’s recent escalations, these services look to be under threat again, especially with the expulsions of consular staff.
On May 3, the RCMP formally charged three Indian nationals for Nijjar’s murder. The three men are suspected to be part of the Bishnoi gang, an influential organized crime group with origins in India’s Punjab state. The RCMP linked the Bishnoi gang’s activities in Canada with the actions of Indian government agents in its ongoing investigation.
Before making accusations of the Indian government’s involvement, Prime Minister Trudeau discussed Nijjar’s death with members of the Five Eyes intelligence network, which consists of Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. All of the Five Eyes countries have since supported the RCMP probe that formally connected Indian government agents with Nijjar’s death, although with various degrees of caution to preserve their own ties with India. India has denied all accusations levied against it, insisting in a statement on October 17 of this year that Canada has not provided evidence to back up its claims.
In a press release released on October 14, the Ministry of External Affairs of India called the accusations levied by the RCMP against the now-expelled officials “completely baseless” and announced the withdrawal of its High Commissioner to Canada in retaliation for Canada’s actions.
India also accused the Canadian government of committing “naked interference in Indian internal politics” by providing “space to violent extremists and terrorists” to harass leaders of the Indian diaspora freely. The statement particularly attacked Prime Minister Trudeau for using the expulsions as a means to shore up political gain amidst a foreign interference hearing.
The hearing, known as the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions, is a commission investigating foreign interference in the Canadian democratic process and has operated since September 8, 2023. The commission was founded because of Canadians’ rising concerns that foreign countries had infiltrated Canadian institutions and the federal elections process.
On May 3, the commission released an initial report detailing the scale of foreign interference in Canada. India is included in the list of countries suspected of engaging in interference operations within Canada.
On October 16, while testifying in the commission’s public hearings, Prime Minister Trudeau called India’s alleged actions a “horrific mistake,” openly accusing India of violating Canadian sovereignty. He also accused Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi of not listening to his concerns regarding the death of Nijjar when he brought them up at the 2023 G20 Summit held in New Delhi before he made the allegations public in a speech to the House of Commons on September 18, 2023.
