Amid thaw in ties, Indian envoy to Spain likely to be appointed next High Commissioner to Canada
Patnaik has over three decades of experience as a diplomat, serving at India's missions in Beijing, Dhaka, Vienna and Geneva. He was formerly India's ambassador to Morocco and Cambodia, as well as deputy high commissioner at its mission in London. He was also a director-general of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations.
A person familiar with the matter said that the process for Patnaik's 'likely' appointment has begun following the bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney last week on the margins of the G7 summit in Alberta.
New Delhi: Dinesh K. Patnaik, India's Ambassador to Spain is set to become New Delhi's next high commissioner to Canada, ThePrint has learnt. The process to appoint high commissioners between New Delhi and Ottawa has begun and is likely to be completed 'soon'.
Modi and Carney during their meeting on 18 June called for the 'early return of high commissioners to each other's capitals,' as part of 'calibrated' and 'constructive steps' to 'restore stability' to the relationship.
The first meeting between the two leaders has led to a thaw in ties, following Ottawa's allegations of Indian government officials being linked to the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Nijjar, an Indian designated terrorist, was killed outside a gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia on 18 June, 2023.
The allegations, raised personally by former Canadian Prime Justin Trudeau in September 2023 on the floor of the House of Commons, torpedoed ties. Within a month, India had called for the removal of 41 Canadian diplomats from Ottawa's missions in the South Asian nation to restore 'parity', while both countries expelled a diplomat each, citing their role as 'spies'.
In October 2024, ties deteriorated further, with India withdrawing its high commissioner from Ottawa, Sanjay Kumar Verma, along with five other diplomats, following a request from the Canadian government to waive their immunity.
New Delhi further expelled six Canadian diplomats including Acting High Commissioner Stewart Wheeler and Deputy High Commissioner Patrick Hébert.
This diplomatic downgrading of ties with a G7 member indicated the chill between New Delhi and Ottawa. Carney's assumption of leadership of the Liberal Party from Trudeau earlier this year led to a hope that ties could be reset. The former Governor of the Bank of England led the Liberal Party to victory in Canadian federal elections in April 2025.
With Carney in power, India had been mulling the restoration of ties, with the appointment of a high commissioner to Ottawa, as reported by ThePrint earlier. However, at the time Carney was appointing his cabinet, which was finally unveiled in May 2025.
For India, a number of challenges in its relationship with Canada remains, including what it believes is the space given to Sikh separatists in the North American country as well as the transnational organised crime gangs, which operate within its borders. Carney carved out the irritants in ties—the Nijjar killing and transnational crime—from the political level through an agreement with Modi to resume cooperation between law enforcement agencies of both countries.
The positive meeting between Modi and Carney set the stage for the step-by-step restoration of ties, starting with the appointment of high commissioners. The two leaders also discussed the resumption of negotiations for an Early Progress Trade Agreement (EPTA), which was called off by Ottawa in September 2023.
For Carney, India has emerged as an important partner country, particularly with the return of President Donald J. Trump to the White House. The American President has taken aim at Canada, famously urging the country to become the '51st state' of the US.
Ottawa relies heavily on its trade with the US, which accounts for over 70 percent of its total trade. While in recent years it has signed a trade deal with the European Union (EU), there is a push to further diversify its economic engagement.
On the security front, Carney is also seeking to diversify its reliance on the US, with a promised $2 billion investment in new defence procurement within the next year. A few days earlier, Canada and the EU signed a new defence and security partnership.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
Also read: Carney is repairing what Trudeau left damaged. India and Canada are now on a path to reset ties
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