Just 30 months after his predecessor savaged New Delhi’s ties with Ottawa, the Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, stood next to his Indian counterpart recently as the two nations took important steps towards rebuilding ties and trust. They announced a 10-year deal under which Canada will supply uranium to India. Critical minerals, defence, technology, space and education are some of the other sectors where the two countries agreed to deepen cooperation. Mr Carney spoke of Swami Vivekananda — who the Indian prime minister views as an inspiration — and his travels in Canada. All of this marks a sharp shift from where relations stood not long ago. Following the accusations of the former Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, that India was behind the assassination of the Sikh separatist-activist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, New Delhi had demanded that Ottawa present evidence. The countries had scaled back their diplomatic presence in the other nation, and a trade deal that was under discussion went into deep freeze. Tensions mounted further as Canada appeared to draw support from the Five Eyes — an intelligence grouping consisting of the United States of America, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand — that appeared to back Ottawa’s claims.
To some extent, the credit for this turnaround must go to Mr Carney. Ever since he took office, he has walked a thin line, not disputing the findings of his country’s intelligence agencies on the one hand and reaching out to India with the other. He has also adopted a calmer and steadier approach than Mr Trudeau. But if the India-Canada relationship is seeing the first signs of a renaissance, larger geopolitical shifts are also responsible. Since he became prime minister, Mr Carney has had to battle threats and jibes from the US president, Donald Trump, including a tariff war.
Mr Modi and India have faced much of the same with the US although Mr Trump appears to be personally fond of the Indian prime minister. Now, with global trade already disrupted, a dangerous new war has broken out with the attack by the US and Israel on Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory strikes. The rules-based order that India and Canada believe in lies in shreds. In this new, disorderly world, New Delhi and Ottawa need each other more than ever.