Canada and India expel top diplomats in growing rift
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there is 'clear and compelling evidence' of crimes


What happened
Canada said Monday it expelled six Indian diplomats, including its ambassador, after uncovering clear evidence they were involved in the 2023 murder of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar and a broader Indian plot to coerce, extort and murder Indian Canadian critics. India denied the allegations and expelled Canada's acting ambassador and five other diplomats in return.
Who said what
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a televised address Monday that Canada's national police now had "clear and compelling evidence" that Indian government agents were engaged in "activities that pose a significant threat to public safety." Canada "will never tolerate the involvement of a foreign government threatening and killing Canadian citizens on Canadian soil," he said. "India has made a monumental mistake." Trudeau's linking of India to Nijjar's murder last year had caused a "rift" that's now a "major rupture," Fen Osler Hampson, an international relations professor at Ottawa's Carleton University, told Reuters.
Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said Canada had shown India the "ample, clear and concrete evidence" for the six diplomats being "persons of interest" in the Nijjar killing, and it expelled them only after India refused to lift their diplomatic immunity so they could be questioned. India's foreign ministry said Delhi "strongly rejects" Canada's "preposterous imputations and ascribes them" to Trudeau's "political agenda."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
India's spy agencies have "long been accused of directing the killings of opponents inside neighboring countries," The New York Times said, and Canada's accusations about the Nijjar assassination were "bolstered by the findings of an American investigation into a similar, though unsuccessful, plot against a U.S.-based Sikh cleric," Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, last November.
What next?
The U.S. State Department said an Indian government committee investigating Delhi's alleged involvement in the Pannun assassination plot will arrive in Washington on Tuesday as part of its ongoing inquiry. Joly pointedly "noted that India is cooperating with U.S. officials and can do it with Canada as well," The Associated Press said.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
The marvelous powers of mucus
The Explainer It's snot just a pesky cold symptom
-
What to know about the 'no tax on tips' policy
The Explainer The new bill would make tip income exempt from federal income taxes
-
Dehorning rhinos sharply cuts poaching, study finds
Speed Read The painless procedure may be an effective way to reduce the widespread poaching of rhinoceroses
-
'The bilateral relationship has eroded'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
'Russia's position is fragile'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump pauses all new foreign student visas
speed read The State Department has stopped scheduling interviews with those seeking student visas in preparation for scrutiny of applicants' social media
-
'Natural disasters don't happen only in the movies'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump vows to lift Syria sanctions
speed read The move would help the new government stabilize the country following years of civil war
-
Carney and Trump come face-to-face as bilateral tensions mount
IN THE SPOTLIGHT For his first sit-down with an unpredictable frenemy, the Canadian prime minister elected on a wave of anti-Trump sentiment tried for an awkward detente
-
Canada's Liberals, Carney win national election
Speed Read The party of Prime Minister Mark Carney beat Conservative Pierre Poilievre thanks in part to Trump's trade war
-
'It is a test of Africa's will to lead, not follow'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day