Canada’s Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly on Friday issued a stern warning to the remaining Indian diplomats in the country, stating they are “clearly on notice” after Canada implicated the Indian High Commissioner in Ottawa in the assassination of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Joly emphasized that Canada would not tolerate any diplomats who violate the Vienna Convention or pose a risk to Canadian lives. Her comments followed India’s expulsion of six Canadian diplomats and the withdrawal of its High Commissioner after rejecting Ottawa’s allegations linking the envoy to Nijjar’s killing.
Canada, in turn, expelled six Indian diplomats and has accused Indian officials of involvement in transnational repression. Joly compared India’s actions to those of Russia, highlighting the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s claims that Indian diplomats have been linked to homicides, death threats, and intimidation targeting Sikh separatists in Canada.
The tensions between India and Canada have escalated since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused Indian agents of being potentially involved in Nijjar’s murder in Surrey, British Columbia, last year. India has dismissed the allegations as baseless and politically driven, while repeatedly criticizing Canada for its leniency towards supporters of the Khalistan movement living in the country.
