Editorial: To do or not Trudeau

Earlier this week, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified before a Commission of Inquiry, acknowledging that he had only intelligence and no ‘hard evidentiary proof’ regarding his allegations on the involvement of Indian government agents in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar last year. The relations between the two nations came under severe strain following Trudeau’s diatribe last September pointing to the involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Nijjar, who was gunned down in Surrey, British Columbia.

While New Delhi had rejected Trudeau's charges as ‘absurd’, it has repeatedly criticised Trudeau's government for being soft on supporters of the Khalistan movement who live in Canada. The Khalistan movement is banned in India but has support among the Sikh diaspora, particularly in Canada. India proceeded to expel six Canadian diplomats and withdrew its High Commissioner in Canada, after dismissing Ottawa’s allegations linking the envoy to a probe into the killing of Nijjar. Canada has also expelled six Indian diplomats.

The escalation in diplomatic row between India and Canada is a major downturn in already frosty ties between the two nations. However, political observers have commented that Trudeau’s attempts to drag India’s name through the muck could possibly be aimed as a diversionary tactic to repair Canada’ relations with China, which has been accused of poll interference. The allegations against India have helped Trudeau resume a sort of high level engagement with Beijing in the aftermath of his government being compelled to expel Chinese diplomat Zhao Wei last year for allegedly intimidating an opposition MP from the Conservative Party.

Of course, India must not brush this issue under the carpet as Canada’s belligerent posturing is a sign of the changing dynamics within the western alliance. India needs to focus on the tendency among sections of the US government to collaborate with Trudeau and build a joint case against India. Ottawa is part of the Five Eyes, an alliance of western intelligence agencies, where the Canadian allegations find a sounding board among US hardliners who view Sikh separatists as a security/intelligence asset to be weaponised against India.

The MEA has also called out Trudeau for engaging in this kind of a mudslinging episode with India on account of deriving political gain from the pro-separatist Khalistan votebank, especially in the backdrop of his exceptionally low ratings in the run-up to the 2025 general elections. Trudeau’s popularity has dropped from 63 per cent when first elected in 2013 to 28 per cent this June. As per estimates from a Leger poll, the Conservatives are blazing ahead by 45 per cent support as compared to the ruling Liberals who have 25 per cent.

Analysts in the policy space reckon that Canada needs to be in a position to tackle the Khalistan fringe elements, knowing fully well that the bulk of the eight lakh Sikh diaspora have no loyalties towards the separatists. It might be recalled that Khalistanis have frequently attacked Indo-Canadian journalists who have exercised their freedom of expression. Two weeks ago, a Calgary-based radio jockey Rishi Nagar was stabbed by a group of pro-Khalistan supporters for supposedly refusing to endorse their agenda.

It goes without saying the Canadian leader seems to be turning a blind eye to such incidents. Instead of working on these law enforcement issues as well as the political crisis that his party has been beset by, he has trained his guns on New Delhi, which will be detrimental for Canada’s economic and diplomatic interests.