After more than a year-and-a-half of strained diplomatic relations, India and Canada are set to bring bilateral ties “back on track”, starting with the reinstatement of High Commissioners, even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday congratulated his on the victory of his Liberal Party in the federal elections there.
Sources told that New and Ottawa are looking at “restoring their High Commissioners by June this year” after they were expelled in October last year. India’s current ambassador to Spain, Dinesh Patnaik, is being tapped for the position of the next Indian High Commissioner to Canada, and the process will begin soon, the sources said.
Giving an indication of the turnaround, Modi said that he looked forward to working with Carney to “strengthen our partnership”. “Congratulations @MarkJCarney on your election as the Prime Minister of Canada and to the Liberal Party on their victory,” Modi said in a post on X.
“India and Canada are bound by shared democratic values, a steadfast commitment to the rule of law, and vibrant people-to-people ties. I look forward to working with you to strengthen our partnership and unlock greater opportunities for our people,” Modi added.
Carney, an economist and relatively untested political leader, led the Liberal Party to its fourth victory since 2015. It marked a remarkable turnaround in the party’s fortunes following ex-PM Justin Trudeau’s resignation and a tariff war with the US, with President even expressing a wish to annex Canada.
The Conservatives, hoping to wrest power this time, were thwarted by Carney who projected an image of being a steady and experienced hand in steering the economy and taking on Trump. Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, who just three months ago had looked certain to sweep the polls, lost his own seat.
With almost all votes counted Tuesday, the results showed that the Liberals had won 168 electoral districts, followed by the Conservatives with 144. The Liberals need 172 seats in the 343-seat Canadian House of Commons to be able to rule without support.
Ties between India and Canada had been hit severely with allegations of the potential involvement of Indian government agents in the killing of pro-Khalistan separatist figure Hardeep Singh Nijjar in 2023. India had rejected the allegation as “politically motivated” and “absurd”.
This tension led to downgrading of ties, withdrawal of diplomats, visa services being impacted, and trade not achieving its potential. Last October, India expelled Canadian diplomats after Indian envoy Sanjay Verma was expelled along with other diplomats by Canada. The Canadian consulates were shut because of lack of enough officials.
With Trudeau’s exit and the defeat of Jagmeet Singh, who leads the left-leaning New Democratic Party and is viewed by Delhi as a backer of pro-Khalistan separatists in Canada, Delhi is hoping that ties will be handled with “much more maturity” by Carney — unlike Trudeau.
However, the judicial process in Nijjar’s killing is still in place, with periodic hearings and revelations of more findings by law enforcement agencies expected in the case. While the political executive doesn’t have any control over the judiciary, the new Ottawa is expected to handle ties with India more carefully. Delhi remains cautious but hopes that Tuesday’s results will lead to some of the wrinkles in ties being ironed out. Officials said there is hope that bilateral ties will once again be based on “mutual trust and sensitivity”.
