Canada's intelligence agency has accused India of perpetrating foreign interference, an explosive remark from a report on Wednesday, that comes just after New Delhi's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Ottawa counterpart Mark Carney agreed to a diplomatic truce at the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Alberta.
While the report noted that transnational repression played “a central role in India's activity in Canada”, it also clarified that it was China that posed the greatest counter-intelligence threat to their country, followed by Russia, Iran and Pakistan.
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In a bid to strengthen bilateral ties, the two nations had also agreed to reinstate top diplomats on both sides, following former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's 2023 accusation of the Indian government being involved in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh separatist leader in Canada, which had dampened ties between the two nations, which had led to a withdrawal of diplomats on both sides.
The Modi government had, at the time, denied involvement in Nijjar's death, accusing Canada of sheltering Sikh separatists.
In that regard, Carney's decision to repair ties with India by inviting Modi to the G7 summit this year angered the Sikh community in Canada, leading to anti-Modi demonstrations in certain parts of the country.
"Indian officials, including their Canada-based proxy agents, engage in a range of activities that seek to influence Canadian communities and politicians," the Canadian Security Intelligence Service report reads.
It claimed that the Indian government's modus operandi was to “steer Canada's positions into alignment with India's interests on key issues, particularly with respect to how the Indian government perceives Canada-based supporters of an independent homeland that they call Khalistan”.
The foreign ministries of both nations have not made a comment on the subject yet.
"Canada must remain vigilant about continued foreign interference conducted by the Government of India, not only within ethnic, religious and cultural communities but also in Canada’s political system. CSIS will continue to observe and assess the nature and extent of India’s activities in Canada," the report added.
