Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has admitted that his government didn't have strong evidence when it accused India of being involved in the killing of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in 2023. This admission has come at a time when the diplomatic relationship between India and Canada is getting worse. Trudeau’s statement has led people to question whether Canada’s accusations were true and what impact this might have on the relationship between the two countries.

Case

On June 18, 2023, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a 45-year-old Canadian man who advocated for an independent Sikh homeland from India, was shot and killed outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia. This incident triggered a series of diplomatic tensions between Canada and India. By September 1, 2023, a Canadian trade official announced that Canada had paused discussions on a trade deal with India, surprising many since both countries had initially planned to finalise the agreement that year.

On September 10, 2023, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed his concerns about Sikh separatist protests in Canada to Prime Minister Trudeau during a G20 summit in New Delhi. Shortly after, on September 18, 2023, Trudeau informed Parliament that Canada was investigating credible allegations linking Indian government agents to Nijjar's murder.

India quickly reacted to the accusations from Canada, calling them “absurd” on September 19, 2023. In a back-and-forth response, both countries expelled a diplomat from each side; Canada sent away India’s top intelligence officer, while India expelled a Canadian diplomat. By September 22, 2023, India had stopped issuing new visas for Canadians and asked Canada to reduce the number of its diplomats in India. However, India started issuing visas again two months later. The ongoing conflict reached a peak on October 19, 2023, when Canada decided to withdraw 41 of its diplomats from India, as announced by Foreign Minister Melanie Joly.

Canada accuses India without strong evidence

 

In October 2024, during a public inquiry, Prime Minister Trudeau admitted that Canada didn't have strong evidence when it accused India. Instead, the government acted on weak information, which raised concerns about how these serious accusations were made. Trudeau said, "We had no solid proof when we first blamed India." When India asked for the evidence, Canada couldn't provide any. Instead, Trudeau said they told India that the information was with their own security agencies and they should investigate it themselves.

At the same time as Trudeau's admission, Canada’s police (RCMP) revealed that they were looking into many threats against pro-Khalistan activists in Canada. The RCMP said there were over a dozen serious threats aimed at supporters of the Khalistan movement. However, their investigations did not find solid evidence to back up Canada’s claims that India was involved in these threats or attacks.

 

India’s strong response to baseless claims

 

India responded quickly and firmly to these accusations. The Indian government, through its Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), rejected the claims, calling them “ridiculous” and “nonsense.” India also criticised Trudeau for making such serious accusations without showing any proof. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “What we heard today only confirms what we've been saying all along—Canada has not given us any evidence to support the serious accusations it has made against India and our diplomats.”

India also said that the main issue was not whether Indian agents were involved in Nijjar’s killing, but that Canada wasn’t stopping pro-Khalistan groups from operating freely in the country. India had already declared Nijjar a terrorist and believed that Canada was allowing people like him to push for a separate Sikh state without any consequences. India said this was the real reason why relations between the two countries were getting worse.

Trudeau’s government wanted to handle the issue carefully so it wouldn’t hurt the relationship between Canada and India. However, when India refused to help Canada with the investigation, it made things worse between the two countries. Trudeau said that Indian officials also criticised how Canada dealt with the situation, accusing the Canadian government of harming its own democracy.

 

Diplomatic tensions rise between India and Canada

 

The situation has caused serious problems between India and Canada. Both countries have kicked out important diplomats in response to the growing tension. In September 2024, India expelled six Canadian diplomats, and Canada also expelled some top Indian diplomats. This has made their already tense relationship even worse. Additionally, India pulled back its High Commissioner from Canada, showing that it strongly disapproved of how Canada was handling the situation.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that Prime Minister Trudeau is completely responsible for the problems in the relationship between India and Canada. They stated, “The responsibility for the damage caused to India-Canada relations is all on Prime Minister Trudeau.” This was part of their official response to the situation.

As the diplomatic conflict got worse, Trudeau accused Indian diplomats of gathering information about Canadian citizens who criticised the Indian government and sharing that information with criminal groups, like the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. India strongly denied these accusations, calling them another unfair attempt by Canada to target India without any evidence.

 

What will Canada’s government do next?

 

The situation has left Canada in a challenging position. Prime Minister Trudeau's admission that the original accusations against India were based on weak information, not strong evidence, has made people question how his government handled the case. Although Trudeau says there were clear signs that India violated Canada's rights, the absence of proof has made his position weaker both domestically and on the world stage.

At the same time, India keeps rejecting the accusations and insists that Canada’s failure to stop pro-Khalistan activities is the real problem between the two countries. As both sides stick to their beliefs, the consequences of this diplomatic conflict are expected to continue, with no solution in sight.