The PM says there are ‘clear indications’ that India violated Canada’s sovereignty, and that its government agents are targeting Canadians

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday said India made “a horrific mistake” by thinking it could interfere as aggressively as it allegedly did in Canada’s sovereignty.

Trudeau made the remark two days after Canada kicked out six Indian diplomats, linking them to the murder of a Sikh separatist leader in Canada and alleging a broader effort to target Indian dissidents in the country.

The Canadian leader’s comments were the strongest he has made in a year-long dispute that plunged bilateral relations to a new low.

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“The Indian government made a horrific mistake in thinking that they could interfere as aggressively as they did in the safety and sovereignty of Canada,” he told an independent probe into foreign interference in Canadian politics.

Trudeau said Ottawa could take further steps to ensure Canadians’ security but declined to give details.

India denies the allegations of interference and has expelled six Canadian diplomats in a tit-for-tat move.

Tensions have soared since Canada accused the Indian government of involvement in last year’s killing outside a Sikh temple of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, an advocate for an independent Sikh state who had immigrated to Canada and become a citizen.

At a Wednesday’s hearing, Trudeau addressed Nijjar’s murder, as well as what he termed a broader campaign by Indian government representatives targeting Canadian citizens inside Canada.

“We had clear and certainly now ever clearer indications that India had violated Canada’s sovereignty,” Trudeau told the inquiry.

He added that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police had determined that “violence towards Canadians … has been enabled by and in many cases directed by the Indian government”.

Trudeau said that when Ottawa presented these charges to New Delhi, “the Indian response to these allegations and to our investigations was to double down on attacks against this government … but also to arbitrarily eject dozens of Canadian diplomats from India on absolutely no cause”.

Trudeau told the inquiry on Wednesday that his government does not want to be in a situation “of picking a fight with a significant trading partner” with whom Canada has deep ties.

But he stressed he would not waver when “standing up for Canadian sovereignty”.

Nijjar – who immigrated to Canada in 1997 and became a citizen in 2015 – had advocated for a separate Sikh state, known as Khalistan, carved out of India.

He had been wanted by Indian authorities for alleged terrorism and conspiracy to commit murder. Four Indian nationals have been arrested in connection with Nijjar’s murder, which took place in the car park of a Sikh temple in Vancouver in June 2023.

India on Monday called allegations it was connected to Nijjar’s killing “preposterous” and a “strategy of smearing India for political gains”.

Last year, the Indian government briefly curbed visas for Canadians and forced Ottawa to withdraw diplomats, and this week threatened further action.

Reuters and Agence France-Presse