No clandestine activity linked to Indian govt in Canada, says police chief

NEW DELHI: Efforts by India and Canada to rebuild their relationship after a period of extreme discord over the killing of a Sikh separatist in the Vancouver area received another shot in the arm with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) declaring that there's no transnational repression or any clandestine activity currently in Canada linked to the Indian govt.

Canada's former PM Justin Trudeau had in 2023 alleged that Indian govt agents had masterminded the killing of Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. While that investigation continues, the RCMP now seems to believe such activities have ceased, as Canada's CTV reported this week.




"In the files that we have that involve transnational repression, we're not seeing any connection right now with any foreign entity, based on the criminal information, the investigations that we have presently," said RCMP commissioner Mike Duheme, in an interview to CTV News.

After a dramatic reset in the relationship since Canadian PM Mark Carney assumed office last year, the two countries looked to upgrade ties with a visit by Carney to India this year that saw several significant agreements, including a landmark $2.6 billion deal for supply of 22 million pounds of uranium to India from 2027 to 2035. The leaders also committed to the conclusion of a free trade agreement by the end of this year.

“I’m saying that based on the totality of the files that we have on foreign interference or transnational repression, what we have in our holdings is we have people that are intimidating people, harassing people, but connecting the dots to a foreign entity, regardless of the country, we don’t have that,” said Duheme further, when asked whether Indian agents were still involved in transnational repression.

Canadian officials had downplayed the threat of transnational repression from India also ahead of Carney’s visit to India earlier this month. An anonymous official was then quoted as saying, “I really don’t think we’d be taking this trip if we thought these kinds of activities were continuing”.

During Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit, India had strongly rejected allegations of involvement in transnational violence or organised crime as reported in the Canadian media, saying these claims were baseless, politically motivated, and “unsupported by credible evidence despite repeated requests”.

A Canadian readout of the Narendra Modi-Mike Carney meeting had said Canada will continue to take measures to combat transnational repression.