Liberal Party leader Mark Carney has won the snap elections to be Canada’s next Prime Minister, beating out Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, as Canadians have seemingly put their trust in him and his government amidst global turmoil incited by US President Donald Trump.
Whilst on the campaign trail, Carney reiterated that Trump's tariffs and threats about annexing Canada are the “most significant crises of our lifetimes”.
And experts, including former diplomats, believe this may be good news for India and its relations with the Great White North.
When Carney took over the Prime Ministership in March, following Justin Trudeau’s resignation, he expressed his desire to mend ties with India, signaling a departure from the strained diplomatic relationship under his predecessor.
For context, Indo-Canadian ties have been at historic lows since September 2023, when Trudeau openly clashed with New Delhi over its alleged role in the assassination of a Canadian citizen.
Trudeau accused government agents of orchestrating the killing of pro-Khalistan leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar near a Gurudwara in Vancouver.
New Delhi angrily denied any involvement in the killing, leading to a tit-for-tat expulsion of each other's high commissioners as well as suspending trade negotiations.
Remember, Canada is home to the world's largest Sikh diaspora, with about 800,000 people or roughly 2% of the nation's population. For some time before the row became public, New Delhi had complained to Trudeau’s government about the activities of Sikh extremists on Canadian soil. Extremists accused of trying to revive the Khalistani insurgency seen in the 80’s and 90’s in India's Punjab.
Interestingly, Canada’s New Democratic Party chief, Jagmeet Singh, known to be a pro-Khalistan leader, resigned after he failed to retain his seat in the Canadian elections.
Carney has previously described the Canada-India relationship as being “incredibly important” on the back of “Canadians having deep personal ties, economically, strategically”.
For the uninitiated, India is the largest expat population in Canada, with its immigration policies having a direct impact on the millions of Indian students, workers and families.
Given Carney’s immediate focus on countering the economic effects of Trump’s trade offensive, the diplomatic reset with India may happen later rather than sooner.
Carney had decried that Trump’s actions “betrayed Canada, America's closest friend and most steadfast ally". And eventually, India is likely to benefit from this.
Back in March, Carney alluded to “opportunities to rebuild the relationship with India” but will have his work cut out for him.
Experts suggest that the steps to improve India-Canada relations could include redeployment of their respective high commissioners, inviting India to the G7 summit that Canada will host in June and progressing on a trade agreement.
PM Modi on his part has congratulated Carney and said that he’s looking forward to “strengthening” the partnership and “unlocking greater opportunities”.
