Mark Carney has invited his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to the upcoming G7 summit in Alberta, marking a shift in Canada-India relations that had soured in recent years.
The two spoke over the phone on Friday, during which the Canadian prime minister extended the invite to Modi and agreed to stay in contact, according to a readout released by Carney’s office.
Modi confirmed the invite and thanked Carney in a post on X, adding that he looked forward to meeting him at the summit in mid-June.
Relations between the two countries have been strained since former PM Justin Trudeau accused India of carrying out the killing of a Sikh separatist leader on Canadian soil.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot and killed outside a Sikh temple he led in Surrey, British Columbia in June 2023.
He had been a vocal advocate for the creation of a separate state for Sikhs in India, called Khalistan. India has accused him of being a terrorist and of leading a militant separatist group – accusations his supporters call “unfounded”.
Four Indian nationals have since been arrested and charged in connection to Mr Nijjar’s death.
Trudeau alleged that agents of the Indian government were involved in the killing, while the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said it had strong evidence that India was involved in orchestrating campaigns of violence and extortion on Canadian soil. India strongly rejected the allegations, calling them “preposterous”, and the row led both Canada and India to expel their top envoys along with other diplomats.
BBC
