India has asked Canada to withdraw dozens of diplomats from the country, escalating a crisis after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said New Delhi may be linked to the murder of a Canadian Sikh.
New Delhi has informed Ottawa that it must repatriate about 40 diplomats by October 10, people familiar with the matter said. India has threatened to revoke the diplomatic immunity of diplomats who remain after that date, one person said.
Trudeau did not confirm on Tuesday how many diplomats had been told to leave but stressed the importance of having a diplomatic presence in New Delhi amid the dispute between the two countries.
“Obviously, we’re going through a very challenging time with India right now, but that’s why it’s so important that we have diplomats on the ground working with the Indian government and supporting Canadians and Canadian families,” he said.
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly added that Ottawa would continue dialogue with India on the matter, saying: “We believe it is best for diplomatic conversations to remain private.”
The Indian government declined to comment. New Delhi has previously said it wants “equal” numbers and levels of diplomats from both countries sent to each other.
The Canadian High Commission in New Delhi has dozens more diplomats than Indian diplomats in Ottawa because about 1.3 million Canadians are of Indian descent and their relatives require a large consular service.
One person said Canada has 62 diplomats in India and New Delhi has asked them to reduce their number by 41.
The day after Trudeau’s explosive remarks on September 18, New Delhi announced a visa ban on Canadians.
Trudeau said Ottawa was investigating “credible allegations” that Indian agents may have been responsible for the assassination of Canadian citizen and Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Vancouver in June. With the suburbs being killed, this latest move threatens to significantly exacerbate the crisis. .
It would also complicate matters for Trudeau, who faces pressure at home to act while also trying to gain support from Western allies eager to develop ties with New Delhi as a bulwark against China.
“Announcing more Canadian diplomats persona non grata “This will not help the situation and will make it more difficult to reduce the sentiment associated with this disagreement,” said Peter Boehm, chairman of the Canadian Senate’s foreign affairs and international trade committee.
Trudeau’s comments came after Ottawa became frustrated after weeks of covert diplomacy with India failed to secure its cooperation with the police investigation into Nijar’s murder.
Diplomacy included two trips to India by Canada’s national security adviser, Jody Thomas, to discuss the issue ahead of September’s G20 summit in New Delhi. India has not admitted involvement in the murder, but has not denied the claim, people familiar with the matter said. The Indian government said it had dismissed the charges.
The murder was also the focus of Trudeau’s meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G20 summit, when India flatly rejected a request for cooperation. In an earlier meeting, New Delhi even urged Canada to halt its investigation, people familiar with the matter said.
Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar said in Washington last week that the alleged assassination was “not in line with our policy” and accused Canada of condoning Sikh separatists’ agitation for India to establish an independent state.
Canadian media reported that Ottawa intercepted conversations between Indian diplomats that suggested official involvement in the Nijjar shooting last June. India denies seeing any such evidence.
Ottawa has shared limited information with the Indian government, in part to protect the sources and methods of gathering intelligence and to avoid compromising the murder investigation, people familiar with the matter said.
The restrictions meant Thomas and other officials visiting India, including Canadian Security Intelligence Service chief David Vigneault, could only give evidence verbally to their Indian counterparts.
The standoff with India is an issue for Trudeau, whose approval ratings are declining amid a cost-of-living crisis and as his Liberal party prepares for an election before October 2025. Critics accuse the prime minister of pandering to Canada’s large Sikh population and acting hastily.
One person familiar with his thinking said now was “not a good time” for the crisis. But people familiar with the matter said that because of the seriousness of the allegations, Trudeau felt it was necessary to make a statement in Parliament before the Globe and Mail planned to publish the article.
“A Canadian was killed on Canadian soil. It’s a matter of sovereignty, so it has to be the prime minister (making the statement),” one of the people said.
Roland Paris, a foreign policy expert at the University of Ottawa, said the nature of the charges left Trudeau with no choice.
“There’s a sense in Canada that bad things happen elsewhere, but this murder really brought it to the public’s attention,” Paris said. “This is not something that Canada or Canadians will ignore or forget.”
Richard Faden, who served as Trudeau’s national security adviser and former head of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said he was surprised by the prime minister’s move. “I think he must be absolutely sure of the evidence.”
While some Canadian critics were initially disappointed by the response of its international allies to its “credible allegations” against India, the tone has shifted.
The British Financial Times recently reported that US President Biden raised the Nijar murder case with Modi at the G20 summit. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken last week urged India to cooperate with Canadian police investigations.
U.S. Ambassador to Ottawa David Cohen also said Canada received intelligence about the murder from the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network, which also includes the United States, Britain, Australia and New Zealand – a statement that would bolster Trudeau’s case.
“I don’t think the prime minister is going to back down,” Boehm said, warning that India considered Canada “an easy target.”
“India knows that our ability to retaliate is limited, that we have a minority government and is aware of the political implications that come with it,” Bohm said. “Of course, there are elections coming up in India.”
Veena Najibullah, an adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia, said the dispute has put Canada and its allies in a “dilemma” and it will be difficult to see how Ottawa and New Delhi can ease relations for some time.
“It’s hard to see any change when the leadership of both countries remains the same,” she said.
Additional reporting by John Reid in New Delhi
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