But, while Singh was informed of the threat to him and his family on Sunday, a senior Canadian government official told reporters in an off-the-record briefing on Wednesday that \u201cIndia is no longer a threat\u201d to security, two days before Carney was due to land in New Delhi.<\/p>\n
This marks a significant shift in Canada\u2019s tone and approach to India under Carney, who is looking to diversify foreign relations to cushion the impact from United States President Donald Trump\u2019s trade war, analysts say.<\/p>\n
Observers say Carney\u2019s visit to New Delhi this week could mark the start of a reset of the bilateral relationship, which hit new lows in recent years under Canada\u2019s former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.<\/p>\n
![\"Modi\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/2024-05-21T183720Z_566872816_RC25V7AHHZIP_RTRMADP_3_CANADA-INDIA-1772131920.jpg\")
Sikh protesters stand outside the Surrey Provincial Court, where four suspects arrested by Canadian police for the murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar appeared, in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, on May 21, 2024 [Jennifer Gauthier\/Reuters]The rupture in ties<\/p>\n
The mood in Ottawa had already changed a great deal since Carney succeeded Trudeau to lead the government in March last year.<\/p>\n
Under Trudeau, relations between Canada and India had deteriorated to tit-for-tat accusations and the expulsion of diplomats, particularly since the killing of Nijjar in June 2023.<\/p>\n
Nijjar was a prominent advocate for a Sikh homeland in the form of an independent Khalistani state in India. New Delhi calls this separatism and views Nijjar and others in the movement as \u201cterrorists\u201d.<\/p>\n
Following Nijjar\u2019s killing, pressure mounted on Trudeau from the influential Sikh diaspora in Canada, demanding accountability. In October 2024, during an inquiry into foreign interference, Trudeau said there were \u201cever clearer indications\u201d that India had violated Canada\u2019s sovereignty by targeting Sikh activists on Canadian soil.<\/p>\n
India\u2019s \u201cactions\u201d, Trudeau said, were a \u201chorrific mistake\u201d.<\/p>\n
Canada also accused India of interfering in its domestic politics, including by providing funds to politicians whom New Delhi preferred. India firmly rejected the allegations, calling them \u201cpreposterous\u201d, and urged Canada to take action against anti-Indian elements operating from its soil \u2013 an apparent reference to Sikh activists.<\/p>\n
But Nijjar\u2019s killing opened a can of worms for the Indian establishment. In November 2023, the US Department of Justice charged an Indian national with allegedly plotting to assassinate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun<\/a>, an American lawyer and also a Sikh activist.<\/p>\n Nikhil Gupta, 54, accused of plotting to kill Pannun, pleaded guilty<\/a> to three criminal charges in a federal court in New York City earlier this month. He faces up to 40 years in prison for admitting to murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.<\/p>\n Sikh activists in the United Kingdom were also reportedly warned of a threat from the Indian government.<\/p>\n Trudeau\u2019s approach to the issue, in some sense, had become emblematic of the problem in bilateral ties, said Harsh Pant, a foreign policy analyst in New Delhi.<\/p>\n His confrontational approach \u201cmeant that issues that could have been dealt with at the bureaucratic level were elevated to the strategic level\u201d, and it became difficult to disentangle the two, he added.<\/p>\n When Carney was elected new leader of the ruling Liberal Party<\/a> in 2025, he replaced Justin Trudeau amid historic tensions with the United States and fears of a trade war with the Trump administration. Carney took the stage, actively looking for new partners to mitigate this threat.<\/p>\n Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi leapt to congratulate him and immediately called on him \u201cto strengthen our partnership and unlock greater opportunities for our people\u201d.<\/p>\n Soon, Carney had invited Modi to Canada for the G7 summit in June last year, where both leaders met on the sidelines. New envoys in both countries followed. Suddenly, everything had changed in the relationship, said Michael Kugelman, a Washington-based analyst on South Asia.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is just more optimism and momentum for the relationship,\u201d Kugelman told Al Jazeera. Under Carney, the Canadian government \u201crecognises that this relationship is too important to let it flounder\u201d.<\/p>\n The commercial incentives for Canada to get the relationship back on track are huge. \u201cAnd that all starts with changing the tone and the mood,\u201d Kugelman said. Hence, this week\u2019s comments by Canadian officials that \u201cIndia is no longer a threat\u201d.<\/p>\n Vina Nadjibulla, vice president at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, told Al Jazeera that Ottawa has moved from a public, crisis-driven posture to a more deliberate, step-by-step \u201creset\u201d.<\/p>\n Under Carney, \u201cthe emphasis is on rebuilding structured channels so security concerns \u2013 including transnational repression and interference \u2013 can be handled through sustained law enforcement and national security cooperation rather than megaphone diplomacy,\u201d she argued.<\/p>\n \u201cOttawa is trying to do both at once: defend the rule of law at home while advancing areas of mutual interest abroad.\u201d<\/p>\n But Carney\u2019s change in approach does not mean the problem of threats against Sikh activists has vanished.<\/p>\n \u201cCanadian officials definitely still worry about the transnational repression issue, and particularly as legal proceedings continue,\u201d said Kugelman.<\/p>\n The current Canadian government is merely taking a different approach, he suggested: \u201ca more \u2018accommodationist\u2019 approach \u2013 one that focuses on essentially working through this issue with India\u201d.<\/p>\n Unlike the Canadian officials in their off-the-record briefing, Foreign Minister Anita Anand evaded a direct question from reporters when quizzed about whether India is no longer considered a threat. Instead, she said, discussions on the issues of transnational violence are ongoing at the highest levels of both governments.<\/p>\n New Delhi will also want to address the challenges of \u201cKhalistani extremism\u201d, which will be a challenge for Carney, said Pant, who is vice president of the Observer Research Foundation, a New Delhi-based think tank.<\/p>\n![\"Modi\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/2025-06-17T200914Z_1408408275_RC2C4FAUF7C6_RTRMADP_3_G7-SUMMIT-1772131938.jpg\")
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and India\u2019s Prime Minister Narendra Modi shake hands before posing for a photo during the G7 Leaders\u2019 Summit in Kananaskis, in Alberta, Canada, on June 17, 2025 [File: Amber Bracken\/Reuters]Thaw in icy relations<\/p>\n![\"Modi\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/2025-06-17T214313Z_508775542_RC2F4FAJV0RY_RTRMADP_3_G7-SUMMIT-1772132084.jpg\")
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at a bilateral meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney during the G7 Leaders\u2019 Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, on June 17, 2025 [File: Amber Bracken\/Reuters]The way forward<\/p>\n