Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has accused the Indian government of committing a "fundamental error" by allegedly supporting criminal activities on Canadian soil, escalating the already tense relations between the two countries.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Trudeau stressed the importance of an upcoming meeting between the national security advisors of both nations in Singapore this weekend, suggesting that this meeting is critical in resolving the ongoing dispute.
"When I spoke to Prime Minister Modi at the end of last week, I stressed the significance of the meeting between our national security advisors in Singapore. He was aware of its importance, and I made it clear that it must be taken very seriously," Trudeau stated.
Trudeau was joined at the press conference by Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly. He reiterated that Canada remains committed to working with India despite the tensions, but criticized the Indian government's actions, claiming that it had supported criminal activities such as murder and extortion within Canada.
"The Indian government made a fundamental error by believing they could support criminal actions against Canadians on our soil. This is absolutely unacceptable," Trudeau said.
The diplomatic fallout stems from allegations by Canadian intelligence that India may have been involved in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen and Sikh activist, who was killed in Surrey in June 2023. Nijjar had been designated a terrorist by India's National Investigation Agency in 2020. Trudeau said Canada's intelligence agencies believe India may have been behind Nijjar's killing.
"We did not choose to create tensions with India. It is a democracy with which we have strong ties, both people-to-people and economically. But when we began to understand through our intelligence that India was possibly, if not probably, involved in the killing of a Canadian on Canadian soil, we sought cooperation from India to address the issue," Trudeau explained.
Trudeau added that Canada had been transparent throughout the process, keeping Indian authorities informed of their findings and seeking collaboration. However, he claimed that India's response has been one of denial and deflection.
"Every step of the way, India's response has been to deny, obfuscate, and attack both myself and the integrity of Canada's officials and police agencies. Despite this, we have continued to try to work with them to ensure accountability," he said.
Trudeau also revealed that Canada's law enforcement agencies, including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), had attempted to work with their Indian counterparts to prevent further violence and ensure the safety of Canadians, but these efforts were rebuffed by India.
In response to the escalating tensions, India expelled six Canadian diplomats after Canada expelled six Indian diplomats following accusations that they were involved in criminal activities linked to the Indian government. The Indian government has dismissed these allegations as "baseless" and politically motivated, accusing the Trudeau government of harboring anti-India extremists and terrorists.
India also strongly rejected a recent diplomatic communication from Canada, which implicated Indian diplomats in an investigation, calling the claims "preposterous" and part of a political agenda by the Canadian government.
The diplomatic rift follows Trudeau's allegations in 2023 that India was behind the assassination of Nijjar, a claim India has repeatedly denied, calling it "absurd" and "motivated."