Ten years after he last visited Canada, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Kananaskis, Alberta, as a special invitee to the G-7 summit outreach (June 15-17), with some hopes that the invitation from Prime Minister Mark Carney will give the two countries a chance to reset bilateral ties. Mr. Carney’s call to Mr. Modi last Friday took many by surprise, as it appeared to come at the last-minute, and possibly after some back-channel calls to ensure neither side would be embarrassed by the outcome. Under fire for the invitation despite a pending trial against Indian government agents in Canada, Mr. Carney said, quite rightly, that India, as a major world economic force, deserves to be part of the G-7 outreach deliberations. Regardless of the reasoning, both the invitation and its acceptance indicate a desire on both sides to take India-Canada ties out of the present lows. In the past two years, after former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau went public with thus far unsubstantiated allegations that India was behind the assassination of Khalistani activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, and was targeting other Canadian nationals, and RCMP officials even named Home Minister Amit Shah in the conspiracy, both countries have cut mission strengths down to a third. Canada suspended talks for a free trade agreement, while India temporarily stopped issuing visas to Canadians, citing persistent threats to Indian diplomats. Apart from considerable trade and investment, India and Canada are inextricably bound by their people — over 1.86 million are settled in Canada, but remain connected to India.
Given the tough task ahead, teams preparing for the Carney-Modi meeting must work with the utmost sensitivity. While ties have nosedived since 2023, they have had a history of bad blood dating back to the 1970s, primarily over the Khalistan issue. It would be naive to imagine that these issues can be resolved in a summit, but a considered decision by both leaders to publicly show respect for each other’s positions is necessary. Returning the high commissioners and other diplomats to their posts is an imperative, along with a possible timeline for the restoration of trade talks. Speaking in Parliament, Mr. Carney said that Mr. Modi has agreed to a “law enforcement dialogue” where, no doubt, the Nijjar case and issues over Khalistani threats to Indian diplomats and community centres will come up, and the public messaging from the meeting will be the most important part of ensuring a path to improved relations. “Summit-level meetings” such as the one planned in Kananaskis can only open a door toward bettering ties; it is the necessarily tedious and painstaking talks behind the scenes that will actually allow the two countries to step through those doors and essay a different way of engaging each other.
Published – June 12, 2025 12:20 am IST