{"id":500127,"date":"2026-02-26T05:31:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T05:31:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/500127\/"},"modified":"2026-02-26T05:31:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T05:31:10","slug":"india-no-longer-seen-as-conducting-foreign-interference-in-canada-senior-official-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/500127\/","title":{"rendered":"India no longer seen as conducting foreign interference in Canada, senior official says"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Prime Minister Mark Carney and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi meet during the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Kananaskis, in Alberta, June 17, 2025. Mr. Carney is set to visit India in a business-focused trip starting Friday.Amber Bracken\/Reuters<\/p>\n

The Canadian government does not believe India is still meddling in this country through foreign interference, transnational repression or violence, activities Ottawa has previously linked to New Delhi.<\/p>\n

A senior government official spoke to journalists at a background briefing Wednesday on Prime Minister Mark Carney\u2019s trip to India, which is set to begin on Friday. He repeatedly said that Canada is of the opinion that the Indian government is no longer conducting any such activity.<\/p>\n

The statement is a significant change from 16 months ago, when Canada expelled six Indian diplomats, including the country\u2019s high commissioner. Then-prime minister Justin Trudeau had accused Indian diplomats of being part of a campaign of violence against Canadians.<\/p>\n

Mr. Carney is trying to reset relations with India after a diplomatic freeze that lasted years over alleged foreign interference in Canada, including the 2023 murder in Surrey, B.C., of a Sikh-Canadian activist who sought an independent homeland in India. <\/p>\n

Carney to visit Mumbai, New Delhi but not Punjab in business-focused India trip<\/a><\/p>\n

Mr. Trudeau later publicly accused India of playing a part in the killing, something the country\u2019s leadership continues to deny.<\/p>\n

Asked whether Canada still believes India is engaged in transnational repression or foreign interference, the Canadian official said Ottawa is of the opinion this has ceased. The official did not explain how the government had arrived at this conclusion.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we believed that the government of India was actively interfering in the Canadian democratic process, we probably would not be taking this trip,\u201d the official said of Mr. Carney\u2019s visit to India.<\/p>\n

Asked about allegations that agents of the Indian government are engaged in extortion or threats of violence in Canada, the official told reporters Ottawa believes this is no longer happening, citing a high-level communication channel on security that has been set up to discuss these matters.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a very robust diplomatic engagement, including between national security advisers, and I think we can say we\u2019re confident that that activity is not continuing, or we would not be having this type of discussion,\u201d the official said.<\/p>\n

While in India, Mr. Carney will meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and is expected to pursue new markets and investment to replace business lost or threatened because of the increasingly protectionist trade policy of the United States.<\/p>\n

Back in 2024, Canada expelled six Indian diplomats after the RCMP had deemed them \u201cpersons of interest\u201d in an investigation probing what the force described as a campaign of alleged violence, extortion and intimidation directed at the Sikh diaspora by agents of Mr. Modi\u2019s government. <\/p>\n

And in January 2025, a public inquiry report flagged India as the \u201csecond most active country engaging in electoral foreign interference in Canada\u201d after China.<\/p>\n

Asked for comment, the Prime Minister\u2019s Office said Canada will continue to combat any transnational repression, cross-border organized crime or \u201cany contravention of the Criminal Code or rule of law\u201d on Canadian soil.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe safety and security of Canadians will always be our government\u2019s top priority,\u201d said Audrey Champoux, deputy director of communications in the PMO.<\/p>\n

She said an \u201congoing law enforcement dialogue\u201d will continue to be the basis of a step-by-step approach to re-engagement with India.<\/p>\n

Opinion: Canada\u2019s relationship with India is set to evolve<\/a><\/p>\n

Canada and India have set up communications channels on security and crime issues to address problems early on.<\/p>\n

The Indian government has for decades been upset with some Sikhs in Canada and other overseas communities who advocate carving an independent Sikh homeland out of India. <\/p>\n

The World Sikh Organization (WSO), a critic of Mr. Modi\u2019s India, said the statements from the Canadian government \u201cdon\u2019t reflect the reality being experienced\u201d by members of the Sikh community in Canada.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are seeing individuals being harassed by Indian officials and families being intimidated. I can say with complete conviction that the claim by the government official is utterly false,\u201d Balpreet Singh, legal counsel for the WSO, said. <\/p>\n

Mr. Singh said a prominent Sikh activist in Vancouver was recently warned by police of a credible threat to his life.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Carney government has failed to hold India accountable or to create any safeguards.\u201d<\/p>\n

He alleged that \u201cclearly for this government, Canadian sovereignty and the rule of law and even human lives are secondary to economic interests.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jody Thomas, who served as national security adviser under Mr. Trudeau, said she does not have access to current government intelligence, but that she finds it hard to believe that \u201cthings have resolved themselves to the point described\u201d in reports of the briefing for media.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would be lovely to know that all of the threats and the interference have ended,\u201d Ms. Thomas said. \u201cThat would be a really positive thing.\u201d But, she added, \u201cit would surprise me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stephanie Carvin, a former national security analyst and now a professor at Carleton University, said she does not believe Indian meddling in Canada has ended. <\/p>\n

\u201cIndia has been engaged in foreign interference in Canada since the 1980s. It did not stop this week because of a few official exchanges,\u201d Prof. Carvin said.<\/p>\n

She also criticized the message from the briefing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is concerning to see foreign interference being downplayed in this way by a senior Canadian official. It seems to be bordering on the politicization of intelligence,\u201d Prof. Carvin said. <\/p>\n

She said the Public Inquiry on Foreign Interference, which issued its final report in 2025, warned against politicization of intelligence stemming, Prof. Carvin said, \u201ceither from ignorance of the threat or blind opportunism \u2014 neither of which is good.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Prime Minister Mark Carney and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi meet during the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":500128,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[49,48,44,714],"class_list":{"0":"post-500127","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-canada","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-news","11":"tag-politics"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=500127"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500127\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/500128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=500127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=500127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=500127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}