It is not unusual to see a country’s election campaigns politicizing various global issues, but what is unusual and perhaps unique in the case of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is how far he will go for personal electoral gain. “. Their efforts have reached a level where the impact of “vote-bank politics” is visible on actual diplomatic relations.
India and Canada are in the midst of the worst diplomatic dispute in the history of bilateral relations between the two countries. India has recalled its High Commissioner to Canada and expelled six top diplomats from Canada yesterday. Canada mirrored India’s move. The reason – Justin Trudeau’s proximity to the Khalistan separatist movement and his sympathy for declared terrorists and extremists who spread hatred, violence and extremism on Canadian soil – is all to attract his vote bank.
Mr Trudeau, who is seeking another term as Prime Minister of Canada but is facing one political setback after another in his country, has repeatedly supported the Khalistani separatist movement and called it his They have been allowed to operate in the country by citing “freedom of expression”.
The Prime Minister of Canada is standing shoulder to shoulder with terrorists, extremists and separatists by attending Khalistan rallies in Canada. By doing so, the Prime Minister of Canada has directly violated India’s national security concerns, as well as India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity by supporting those who want to create another nation separate from India – This is called “free speech in Canada”.
India had said about Trudeau’s attendance at the Khalistan rally, “Celebration and glorification of violence should not be a part of any civilized society. Democratic countries that respect the rule of law should not allow radical elements in the name of freedom of expression.” Threats should not be allowed.” ,
Citing his concern over the grave situation and rapidly deteriorating relations, given the rise in extremist elements in Canada, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had said earlier this year that “by giving political space to Khalistani separatist elements, the Canadian government ( “Under the leadership of Justin Trudeau, they are showing again and again that their vote bank is more powerful than their rule of law.”
Speaking to the Press Trust of India, Mr Jaishankar had said, “India respects and practices freedom of expression, but it does not condemn those who threaten foreign diplomats, support separatism or advocate violence and terror.” Giving political space to elements does not equate to freedom.”
Mr Jaishankar also wondered how “people with dubious backgrounds are being allowed to enter and reside in Canada”, referring to select Khalistani separatists among the Sikh immigrants from Punjab.
“In any rules-based society, you would imagine that you would check people’s backgrounds, how they came, what passport they had etc.,” he said, “if you have people whose presence is based on very dubious documents. But what does it say about you? It actually says that your vote bank is more powerful than your rule of law.”
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Trudeau’s latest effort
India and Canada are battling an unprecedented diplomatic crisis after Justin Trudeau alleged that Indian government agents were involved in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada. India has rejected Canada’s allegations as “absurd” and “politically motivated”.
Rapidly losing electoral ground over the past few months since key ally Jagmeet Singh withdrew support from his party, Justin Trudeau calmed down his “vote banks” late on Monday as he criticized India for “canadians”. He reiterated the allegations of “supporting criminal activity against” and “coercive behavior targeting South Asian Canadians”.
In his latest allegations, Mr Trudeau called the Indian High Commissioner a “person of interest” in the investigation into the “murder” of Khalistani terrorist Nijjar. India rejected Mr Trudeau’s allegations, calling them “absurd allegations”.
On its part, India – which is yet to respond to these latest comments – has set up a high-level committee to investigate the allegation.
However, in a strongly worded denial calling out “the political agenda of Justin Trudeau’s government”, India issued a statement saying, “The Government of India strongly rejects these absurd allegations and attributes them to the political agenda of the Trudeau government.” The blame is centered around vote bank politics.”
“Since Prime Minister Trudeau made certain allegations in September 2023, the Canadian government has not shared even a shred of evidence with the Indian government, despite multiple requests from our side. This latest step follows conversations in which Again the claims are seen without any facts. This is no doubt a deliberate strategy to malign India for political gains, under the pretext of investigation,” India’s statement read.
“Prime Minister Trudeau’s hostility towards India has long been in evidence. In 2018, his visit to India, aimed at supporting the vote bank, heightened his unease. His Cabinet includes individuals who His naked interference in Indian internal politics in December 2020, which is openly associated with an extremist and separatist agenda, showed how far he was willing to go in this regard, a political party. , whose leaders openly support separatist ideology with respect to India, only aggravated matters,” the Centre’s statement further read.
Political setback for Trudeau before Canada elections
Justin Trudeau has had to face many political setbacks in the last few months. What is worrying for him is that he has lost the support of his key ally Jagmeet Singh’s party. Singh openly claims ‘Khalistan’.
Doubts about Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s leadership deepened after his ruling Liberal Party suffered two humiliating defeats in a special election, but despite this, the unpopular leader is determined to remain in office ahead of an impending national vote. Are.
The defeat in Toronto in late June reinforced the perception that the Liberals’ prospects in the next national election were bleak. The mandate of Trudeau’s minority government expires at the end of October 2025, but the possibility of an early election has increased.
Although polls indicate the Liberals will be badly defeated by the official opposition center-right Conservatives in the next election amid unhappiness over inflation, health care and the housing crisis, Trudeau and his close allies say he is going nowhere and his Have time to help the party. recover.
According to a survey by global market research and public opinion firm IPSOS, only 26 per cent of people see Justin Trudeau as a good PM – finding himself 19 per cent lower than Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre.
Facing ouster from the post of Prime Minister, Mr. Trudeau made several allegations against India for polarizing the electorate to cater to his vote bank in a desperate attempt to garner all possible support to remain Prime Minister. Have installed.
Indian diaspora
Indian expatriates in Canada number around 1.8 million and another one million non-resident Indians live in the country. Indian immigrants, mostly of Sikh ethnicity, are considered an influential group in Canadian politics.
Relations between India and Canada came under severe strain following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations in September last year of “possible” involvement of Indian agents in Nijjar’s murder.
