As Canada's Mark Carney scripts Liberals' turnaround, what it means for India

New Delhi,UPDATED: Apr 29, 2025 12:10 IST

Earlier this month, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney took time off his busy campaign to join the Hindu community in celebrating Ram Navami. While the timing of the visit was not lost, coming days ahead of elections, it signalled Carney's resolve to mend fences with India after ties nosedived under Justin Trudeau.

Now, with Carney set to be back as Prime Minister, scripting a dramatic reversal in fortunes for the Liberals in the polls, ties with India seem to be in for a reset. And, with it, bury the ghosts of Trudeau's tumultuous regime.

In fact, Carney, who has positioned himself as a bridge-builder, has indicated on several occasions that he was looking at opportunities to rebuild the relationship with India on the back of a trade war with US's Donald Trump.

Even a day before the polls, in an interview, Carney stressed that the Canada-India relationship was "incredibly important".

"It's an incredibly important relationship on many levels - personal, economic, and strategic," Carney, who took over from Trudeau in March, said.

So far, Carney has not directly mentioned the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, an incident that led to the souring of ties, indicating that he was ready to let go of past baggage. Instead, he said, the "strains on the relationship" could be addressed with mutual respect.

Much of the change in tone from Canada has been viewed in the context of Trump's imposition of tariffs and his threat of making Canada the 51st American state.

In fact, the Liberals have much to thank Trump for their reversal in fortunes after it seemed to be down and out after a decade in power and amid a looming economic crisis.

However, Carney's nationalist rhetoric and positioning the party as the bulwark against Trump's tariff aggression seems to have worked wonders.

Well aware that dealing with an assertive Trump won't be easy, Carney has underscored the need for "new friends and new allies". And it is here that India comes in.

"What Canada will be looking to do is to diversify our trading relationships with like-minded countries and there are opportunities to rebuild the relationship with India," Carney said in March.

An economist and a former governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, Carney has indicated that his focus will be more on rebuilding the Canadian economy than foreign policy.

Under Trudeau, it was the opposite. His various foreign policy decisions towards India, influenced by Sikh extremists back home, were believed to be amongst the reasons behind the souring of ties.

Tensions between India and Canada have been simmering since Trudeau's September 2023 allegation that the Narendra Modi-led government was involved in the killing of Nijjar.

The subsequent fallout saw both nations expelling diplomats in a tit-for-tat exchange, effectively freezing bilateral engagement. India also temporarily suspended the issuance of visas to Canadian citizens.

Incidents like the vandalism of a Sikh gurdwara and a Hindu temple with pro-Khalistan graffiti further deteriorated ties.

Now, with Trudeau out, India is hopeful of a reduction in the influence of extremist Sikh elements on Carney's foreign policy towards India.

Trudeau's last term depended on the support of pro-Khalistan leader Jagmeet Singh's Democratic Party (NDP). Jagmeet Singh's loss in the polls and his decision to step down as NDP chief will also prove to be beneficial for India-Canada ties.

Several reports have mentioned that India is already considering restoring the Indian High Commissioner to Canada.

With Carney's overtures marking a departure from Trudeau's confrontational stance, a reshaping of India-Canada ties seems to be on the anvil.