A Carneyval for India-Canada ties after K-flop?
As Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney laboured for the Liberal Party of Canada, Justin Trudeau -- his predecessor and former chief of the party -- was the albatross around his neck. For most of his campaign, Carney's job was to try and get rid of Trudeau's ghost. With Trudeau now history, and Carney the elected PM, will Indo-Canadian ties come out of the deep freeze seen in northern Canada?advertisement"Justin Trudeau and the carbon tax are both gone," Mark Carney countered Pierre Poilievre, his Conservative Party rival, at a campaign debate last week.From the beginning to the fag end of the election fight, Carney kept disassociating himself from Trudeau and his policies.
On Tuesday, as results came in, the Carney-led Liberals were projected to win about 168 seats, just short of the 172 needed to form a majority government, according to Radio Canada."This election Marks the continuation of the Carnival season in Canada," satirist and columnist Kamlesh Singh, popular as Tau of Teen Taal podcast, wrote on X.Another significant blessing is that Jagmeet Singh's New Democratic Party (NDP) has been reduced significantly and lost its bargaining power. Singh is a pro-Khalistan leader and the Trudeau government, to a large extent, depended on its support.advertisementWhen Trudeau announced his resignation in January, Poliviere was tipped to be the next Prime Minister of Canada with his Conservatives having a double-digit lead over the Liberals.Mark Carney swept the Liberal Party election and was sworn in as Canada's Prime Minister on March 14.What helped Carney was his expertise as an economist. He was the former head of two central banks -- the Bank of England and the Bank of Canada.He started off by withdrawing the Trudeau-era carbon tax, which was highly unpopular with Canadians.US President Donald Trump dived in as an unlikely ally. His rhetoric about making Canada the 51st state of the US and Carney's handling of his threats turned the tide.Seeing a turn in voter sentiment, Carney called for snap polls on March 23. His bet paid off.MARK CARNEY INHERITED DIPLOMATIC WOES FROM TRUDEAUMark Carney, in fact, bequeathed an inheritance of loss from Trudeau on the diplomatic front.Trump blamed Trudeau for lax border patrols and allowing drugs and illegal immigrants to be smuggled into the US. He threatened Canada with sanctions.Not just the US, Canada's ties with India hit rock bottom with Trudeau as the PM over his evidence-less allegations that the Indian government was involved in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Khalistani terrorist, on Canadian soil.advertisementNijjar was shot dead in the parking lot of a gurdwara in Canada's Surrey, British Columbia, in June 2023.India vehemently denied the allegations and repeatedly sought evidence from the Trudeau government.Instead of providing evidence, Trudeau made statements against the Indian leadership, which sparked a diplomatic war between the two countries, with reciprocal withdrawal of diplomats.It was a given that Indo-Canadian ties were unlikely to improve with Trudeau as PM. But what after him?WILL MARK CARNEY GIVE BOOST TO INDIA TIES?Carney desperately tried to move away from Trudeau's policies during the campaign but swore allegiance to shared values.Carney told a Radio-Canada show that he shared Liberal Party values, including solidarity, equality and reconciliation, with Trudeau.Therefore, it might be unrealistic to expect a fast, sweeping in ties under Carney. Also given the fact that what Trudeau projected in his fight against India was "core Canadian values".However, Carney, being an economist, knows the importance of India, which is poised to be the fourth-largest economy, pipping Japan, this year, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).Canada's growth curve has flattened.advertisementHigh inflation, growing unemployment, a housing crisis, and large-scale immigration into Canada made Trudeau highly unpopular.The economist PM has to fix Canada's economy first, and he might not want to ignore India on that front.Carney has signalled that already."What Canada will be looking to do is to diversify our trading relationships with like-minded countries, and there are opportunities to rebuild the relationship with India," Carney told reporters in Calgary, Alberta, in March."And there are opportunities to rebuild the relationship with India. There needs to be a shared sense of values around that commercial relationship. If I'm prime minister, I look forward to the opportunity to build that," he stated.Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Mark Carney after reports of a Liberal lead poured in."India and Canada are bound by shared democratic values, a steadfast commitment to the rule of law, and vibrant people-to-people ties. I look forward to working with you to strengthen our partnership and unlock greater opportunities for our people," PM Modi posted on X.CARNEY IS FAMILIAR WITH INDIA, ITS BUSINESSESWhen Carney took over as Canada's PM before the crucial election, Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra posted about his 2017 trip to India and their interaction.advertisement"Mark is a cerebral man, with a great sense of humour. But he's also a no-nonsense, plain-speaking guy. It's going to be an incredibly challenging assignment in today's times—to put it mildly! But if anyone is up to the task, he is," posted Mahindra, whishing Carney good fortune.In 2017, Carney was the Governor of the Bank of England and visited Mahindra Group headquarters in Mumbai as part of a delegation led by the then Chancellor of the Exchequer.Carney has also been on the board of Brookfield Asset Management, which manages around $29 billion in assets in India, spanning infrastructure, real estate, renewable energy and transition, and private equity, according to the British Columbia Investment Management Corporation report from September 2024.Mark Carney held stock options in Brookfield Asset Management Ltd that were valued at $6.8 million as of the end of December, according to a Bloomberg report.CANADA CUTS PRO-KHALISTANI JAGMEET SINGH TO SIZETrudeau, who was at the helm for around 10 years, came in as a darling of the Canadians but was booed out.One of the reasons why Indo-Canadian ties plummeted under Trudeau was his pampering of the Khalistanis.advertisementA part of it had to do with NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, a known pro-Khalistani.When Trudeau was leading a minority government in the second term, Jagmeet's support became crucial for him. It was only close to the election that Jagmeet and Trudeau gave up their embrace.That Trudeau's mollycoddling of the Khalistanis had to do with his electoral compulsions had been pointed out on several occasions by India.Foreign Minister S Jaishankar termed it Trudeau's "vote bank politics"."Canada did not give any proof [in Nijjar killing]. They do not share any evidence with us in certain cases, police agencies also do not cooperate with us. It is their political compulsion in Canada to blame India. As election is coming in Canada, they indulge in vote bank politics," Jaishankar said in May 2024.That compulsion for the Liberal Party has gone as Canadians have cut the NDP to size, giving it just seven seats. It won 24 seats in the last election.After the party's dismal performance, Jagmeet resigned as its head."There is a certain capture -- a disproportionate capture -- by a very smart and active anti-India Khalistani group. But this is a structural reality in Canadian politics for four decades," former Indian High Commissioner to Canada, Ajay Bisaria, said earlier in April.Bisaria predicted that the Khalistanis wouldn't be able to swing the elections.Now, with Jagmeet Singh and his NDP out of the equation, Mark Carney might find a favourable domestic political setting to improve ties with India. The banker-economist knows Canada's economic imperatives, and with Trudeau off his back, finally and completely, he might be able to help bring the much-needed thaw to Indo-Canadian ties.c
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