India–Canada Relations: Canada Officially adds India to Probe of Election Meddling amid Tensions
India–Canada Relations: Canada Officially adds India to Probe of Election Meddling amid Tensions
Canada’s public inquiry into foreign interference will proble allegations that India sought to meddle in recent national elections, potentially inflaming already-elevated tensions between the two countries.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced an inquiry last year after intelligence documents were leaked to media outlets claiming China interfered in Canada’s elections by supporting candidates friendly to President Xi Jinping’s government.
The inquiry is set to hold its first public hearings next week.
The inquiry’s commissioner is tasked with examining potential interference by China, Russia and other state and non-state actors during the 2019 and 2021 elections.
No other countries are explicitly named, but national-security officials have also pointed to India and Iran as other top sources of foreign meddling.
The commission confirmed Wednesday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government will be investigated — according to a statement, the inquiry has requested information and documents related to alleged election interference. But it did not provide details about the allegations.
Trudeau stunned the world in September when he accused India of orchestrating the murder of a Sikh activist on Canadian soil. Masked assailants had gunned down Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian who was designated a terrorist by India because of his support for Khalistan.
The allegation upended Canada-India relations. Modi’s administration forcefully denied the claim, calling it “absurd and motivated.” It temporarily suspended visas for Canadians and threatened to revoke the immunity of two-thirds of Canada’s diplomats, forcing them to leave India. Trade talks between the countries have been on pause for months.
The probe is likely to further strain Canada’s relationships with India and China. Trudeau and Xi both expelled one diplomat each in a tit-for-tat over the interference allegations that emerged last year, and China has demanded Canada “stop hyping up China-related lies and false information.”
Cold India-Canada relations
India and Canada have been in a diplomatic standoff ever since Trudeau addressed the parliament and said his government had ‘credible allegations’ that New Delhi was involved in the killing of a Khalistani separatist named Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
After Trudeau’s allegations concerning Nijjar, diplomatic animosity reached a tipping point between the two nations, with a series of mutual expulsions of diplomats taking place.
New Delhi was the first to temporarily suspend certain visa services which put Ottawa in a fix. However, despite the allegations, the Canadian government is yet to present proof to back up its allegations.
Nijjar, the 45-year-old Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) chief was shot dead on June 18 by two unidentified men in the parking lot of Guru Nanak Gurdwara Sahib in Surrey, Canada. He had moved to Canada in the late 1990s and was declared a designated terrorist by India in 2020.
Last week, New Delhi said it was willing to assist Canada’s extortion probe involving alleged Indian criminal gangs if Ottawa provided facts and requested formally. However, a few days later, Ottawa has returned the favour by levelling allegations against PM Modi’s government.
(With inputs from Agencies)