India, Canada Restore Diplomatic Ties with Appointment of New Envoys After Year-Long Rift
India and Canada have appointed new high commissioners to each other’s capitals, signaling a step toward mending relations nearly a year after a major diplomatic row erupted over the killing of a Sikh separatist leader in Canada.
The renewed diplomatic engagement follows a meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney during the G7 Summit in Alberta in June, where both sides agreed to re-establish senior-level diplomatic representation.
Canada has named Christopher Cooter as its new envoy to New Delhi, while India has appointed Dinesh K Patnaik, currently serving as ambassador to Spain, as its next high commissioner to Ottawa.
The move comes 10 months after both countries expelled top diplomats amid escalating tensions over the 2023 killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh separatist leader designated a terrorist by India in 2020.
Nijjar was fatally shot by two gunmen outside a Sikh temple in Vancouver in June 2023. The case triggered a diplomatic crisis after then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged in Parliament that Canadian intelligence had uncovered “credible allegations” of Indian involvement in the murder — a claim India vehemently denied, calling it “absurd and motivated.”
In response, Ottawa expelled India’s top diplomat and five others. India retaliated by ordering out six Canadian diplomats, including Canada’s acting high commissioner, bringing formal diplomatic relations to a historic low.
Canada’s Foreign Minister Anita Anand described Cooter’s appointment as part of a “step-by-step approach to deepening diplomatic engagement” with India. India’s Ministry of External Affairs confirmed Patnaik’s appointment, stating he is “expected to take up the assignment shortly.”
Tensions between the two countries have been fueled by India’s concerns over Canada’s handling of the pro-Khalistan movement, which advocates for a separate Sikh homeland. India has accused Ottawa of allowing Sikh separatist groups to operate freely, despite repeated warnings.
Canada is home to approximately 770,000 Sikhs — the largest Sikh diaspora outside India’s Punjab state.
