'One Step At A Time': Canada Foreign Minister Anita Anand Says India Ties Will Be Repaired
India-Canada ties hit an all-time low during Justin Trudeau's tenure after he accused India of being involved in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Days after her telephonic conversation with Dr S Jaishankar, Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand on Thursday (local time) said that Ottawa looks forward to rebuilding its ruptured ties with New Delhi and it is taking 'one step at a time" in that direction, according to a report.
Mentioning the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June 2023 – the blame of which was brazenly put on India by then prime minister Justin Trudeau, leading to India-Canada ties hitting an all-time low – Anand said that while the investigation into the case is underway, the Mark Carney government aims to rebuild a partnership with the Modi government.
The India-Canada ties suffered a major blow in September 2023, when Trudeau accused India of playing a role in the killing of the Khalistani terrorist, who was a Canadian citizen. He claimed that he had 'credible allegations" of the involvement of Indian government officials in Nijjar's death. India denied the baseless allegations. These tensions led to reciprocal expulsions of diplomats, a freeze on trade negotiations, among other steps. Around 20 months since this diplomatic fallout, the ambassador-level posts in each other's nations still remain vacant.
Anand spoke to her Indian counterpart, Jaishankar, on Sunday and discussed 'strengthening Canada-India ties".
When asked if she believed that the conversation would lead to the appointment of new high commissioners between the two countries, Anand said that they are taking 'one step at a time".
'We are certainly taking it one step at a time. As I mentioned, the rule of law will never be compromised, and there is an ongoing investigation regarding the case that you mentioned," she said in an interview, while referring to Nijjar's murder, The Globe And Mail reported.
'At the same time, we are looking forward to continuing to build this partnership, and we're looking forward to that as a government – it's not just me. It's part of the process of diversifying our relationships and building relationships around the world," the Foreign Minister added, indicating the country's efforts to diversify trade away from the United States – which has threatened Canada's sovereignty under President Donald Trump.
According to Goldy Hyder, president of the Business Council of Canada, India is important to Canada's economic interests. He said that he plans to travel to India in July to set the stage to prepare for a bigger business trade delegation, which could take place either this fall or early next year, The Globe And Mail reported.
'You can't have an Indo-Canadian strategy without the Indo, and at some point in time, a mature democracy dealing with another mature democracy finds a way to deal with difficult situations," he said.
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May 30, 2025, 09:26 IST
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