In a significant escalation of diplomatic tensions, India announced the expulsion of six Canadian diplomats on Monday and withdrew its own High Commissioner from Canada. This move follows Canada’s decision to name Indian officials, including the envoy, as “persons of interest” in an unspecified investigation.
While details about the investigation remain unclear, relations between the two countries have been strained since 2023, when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged that Indian agents were involved in the assassination of a Sikh separatist leader on Canadian soil. India has consistently denied these accusations and criticized Trudeau for allegedly advancing a “political agenda” against India.
“We have no faith in the current Canadian Government’s commitment to ensure their security. Therefore, the Government of India has decided to withdraw the High Commissioner and other targeted diplomats and officials,” stated India’s foreign ministry.
In a follow-up statement, India requested that the six Canadian diplomats leave the country by Saturday and summoned Canadian Charge d’Affaires Stewart Wheeler to express its protest.
Canada has not publicly confirmed the naming of any Indian officials as persons of interest. However, Wheeler reiterated Trudeau’s allegations, claiming, “Canada has provided credible, irrefutable evidence of ties between agents of the Government of India and the murder of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil. Now, it is time for India to live up to what it said it would do and look into those allegations.”
India refuted these claims, insisting that Canada has not shared any supporting evidence and accusing Ottawa of a “deliberate strategy of smearing India for political gains.”
Tensions have been mounting since October 2023 when Canada withdrew over 40 diplomats from India following New Delhi’s request to reduce its diplomatic presence. Earlier in June, a Canadian parliamentary committee identified India and China as primary foreign threats to its democratic institutions, based on intelligence agency input.
The situation escalated further when the U.S. also alleged Indian involvement in an assassination plot against another Sikh separatist leader in New York in 2023, leading to the indictment of an Indian national acting under the direction of an unnamed Indian government official. India has distanced itself from these allegations and is conducting its own investigation.
The accusations regarding assassination plots have strained India’s relations with both Canada and the U.S., even as these nations seek closer ties with India to counter China’s growing influence globally.
