Canada says India no longer linked to violent crimes ahead of Carney’s New Delhi visit

Ottawa drops link between India and violent crimes before Carney’s India trip

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will begin an official visit to India from February 26 to March 7, signalling a major effort to stabilise relations and expand economic cooperation after a period of diplomatic strain.

Ahead of the visit, senior Canadian officials indicated that Ottawa now believes India is no longer linked to violent criminal activity in Canada, marking a potential easing of tensions.

“We have a very robust diplomatic engagement, including between national security advisers, and I think we can say we are confident that activity is not continuing,” an unnamed senior official was quoted by the Toronto Star as saying.

Carney’s itinerary includes meetings with business leaders in Mumbai, followed by high-level talks with Narendra Modi in New Delhi on March 2. Discussions are expected to centre on clean energy, artificial intelligence, defence collaboration, advanced technologies, and the revival of negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).

Security concerns and diplomatic reset

This comes after relations between the two countries deteriorated sharply after Ottawa accused New Delhi of involvement in the 2023 killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen who advocated for Khalistan. India denied the allegations, and the dispute led to the reciprocal expulsion of diplomats in 2024.

However, the political landscape shifted following Carney’s election victory in April 2025, opening the door for renewed engagement. Both countries have since reinstated their high commissioners, and officials describe ongoing “systematic engagement” at senior and ministerial levels.

Indian High Commissioner Dinesh Patnaik said India has entered into an “unprecedented” security dialogue with Canada. “We are tackling it up front, working together with Canada. That's how mature democracies work,” he told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

“If we find out that agents of the government, or rogue agents or Indian people are associated with what has happened with Mr. Nijjar, we ourselves will take action along with the Canadians,” Patnaik said.

Canada’s Foreign Minister Anita Anand, who is accompanying Carney, said concerns about transnational repression remain central to Ottawa’s approach. “Yes, that is always at the forefront of our minds,” she told reporters.

Meanwhile, the World Sikh Organisation of Canada rejected claims that security concerns have fully subsided, calling the government’s assessment “utterly false.”

Trade, energy, and critical minerals in focus

Economic cooperation is expected to dominate the agenda. Canada views India as a key growth market, particularly in energy security, infrastructure development, and critical minerals vital for batteries and defence manufacturing.

Export Development Canada (EDC) officials have highlighted the strong potential to expand bilateral trade, pointing to Canada’s strengths in oil and gas, clean energy technologies, and large-scale infrastructure financing.

A major goal of the visit is to accelerate negotiations on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. The proposed pact aims to remove trade barriers and create smoother investment flows between the two economies.

In 2024, India became Canada’s seventh-largest trading partner, with two-way trade reaching USD 30.8 billion. Both governments have expressed ambitions to more than double that figure to USD 70 billion by 2030 under a future CEPA framework.

Carney’s India visit forms part of a broader Asia-Pacific tour that also includes Australia and Japan, reflecting Ottawa’s push to diversify trade partnerships amid shifting global dynamics.

The two leaders last met on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg in November 2025, where they reviewed progress in the India–Canada partnership. The upcoming talks in New Delhi are expected to test whether both sides can translate diplomatic recalibration into sustained economic and strategic cooperation.