India and Canada agreed on Tuesday to send their high commissioners back to each other’s capitals and gradually activate bilateral engagement mechanisms, signalling a reset in ties after Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Mark Carney met on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Alberta.
This was the first in-person interaction between the two leaders since Carney assumed office following Canada’s general election in April.
“Both sides agreed to take calibrated and constructive steps to restore stability in the relationship, beginning with the early return of high commissioners to each other’s capitals,” the Indian readout on the meeting said.
“The leaders underscored the importance of restarting senior ministerial as well as working-level engagements across various domains to rebuild trust and bring momentum to the relationship.”
This was echoed in the Canadian readout, too.
The Canadian readout makes it clear that Ottawa’s concerns regarding “transnational crime and repression” — flagged repeatedly following Canada’s allegation of an Indian government hand in the killing of Khalistani activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia in June
2023 — remains.
This was articulated by Carney when he told reporters: “We have had a discussion on the importance of having a law enforcement dialogue — not just dialogue, cooperation directly — and the importance of addressing transnational repression.... Obviously, there is a judicial process that’s underway, and I need to be careful about further commentary.”
Carney was responding to a question from the media on what he told Modi about the Nijjar murder. Earlier this month, after Canada belatedly extended an invitation to Modi to attend the G7 summit as a guest, Carney told reporters that the rule of law would take its course in the Nijjar probe and “I am not going to disrupt that process”. Canadian Sikhs at Calgary had staged a protest over Modi’s presence in Alberta.