Experts believe that Canada may be just beginning a months-long diplomatic row with India, as its allies await more information regarding allegations that New Delhi played a role in the death of a Canadian citizen.
Roland Paris, who heads the graduate school of international affairs at the University of Ottawa, argued that the two countries have made conflicting statements, making it difficult to find common ground.
On Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canadian intelligence agencies were investigating “potential links” between the Indian government and the death of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia.
India called the allegations “absurd and motivated,” with Trudeau urging India to take the allegations seriously and cooperate with the police investigation.
Canada expelled a senior Indian diplomat on Monday.
India later expelled the Canadian envoy, arguing that Canada harbored extremists who wanted a separate state for Sikhs.
According to Paris, diplomatic tensions have only just begun and it is unclear whether these tensions will improve or worsen as the investigation continues.
“We are only at the beginning of a period of diplomatic tension between the two countries,” he said in an interview.
“It will be difficult now that the Indian government has publicly backtracked and denied the allegations. »
Paris, Trudeau’s former foreign policy adviser, noted that there were reports that the government made the allegations public following questions from the media and rumors in the diaspora community.
The question of foreign interference
According to Mr Paris, all these events highlight the importance of addressing foreign interference as a whole.
“It is important for Canada to work together with its allies to counter this kind of pressure,” Paris said.
“But most importantly, we must be able to fight it domestically. The world we live in today is much more dangerous and we cannot rely on allies like in the past. We really need to make sure that we protect Canadians in this context. “.
Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre has called on Trudeau to share more information about the intelligence Ottawa has, and former Liberal Foreign Minister Marc Garneau has also said the government should back up this statement with more detail.
Paris said it was unclear whether India would retaliate against Canada, for example by blocking trade or delaying visas, and it was possible Ottawa would take similar action against India.
However, he noted that India and Canada generally consider each other to be friends, despite long-standing tensions over Sikh separatists.
“I don’t expect things to change unless more information comes to light,” Paris said.
“It looks like they’re really trying to work behind the scenes and use diplomacy to get results directly with India and with the help of their close allies in Canada. It was clear that it didn’t work out in the end. »
