Editorial: India-Canada reset and G7

The discussions between Indian and Canadian Prime Ministers have been fruitful, and both countries have achieved a significant diplomatic breakthrough with the decision to appoint new High Commissioners to each other’s capitals at an early date. This decision will be followed by a series of “calibrated steps” towards the restoration of stability in the bilateral relationship, which had taken a beating in the recent past. There was a visible conviviality in the way Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney received Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was in Kananaskis, Alberta and the discussions between the two leaders on the sidelines of the G7 summit.

It may be recalled how the India-Canada relationship took a turn for the worse when the then Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau went to town accusing India of being involved in the assassination of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in a Vancouver suburb in June 2023. The diplomatic showdown that followed was marked by acrimony and distrust. It was pointed out at that time how India’s muscular foreign policy and a newfound assertiveness, partly real and the rest posturing, was aimed at the domestic audience to buttress claims of its emergence as a global power, but had diplomatic repercussions that New Delhi would struggle to manage. And, in the case of Canada, it had spun out of control as a beleaguered Trudeau too acted out of internal compulsions. Now there’s a new pragmatic realism which is evident in the way Carney wants to tread cautiously around potential landmines and booby traps. When asked if the Nijjar case figured in the talks with Modi, he said he needed to be careful in his response. But he made a generic statement about the importance of law enforcement dialogue in addressing transnational repression.

With a change at the helm in Ottawa in January, the subsequent victory of Carney in the April elections, raging tariff wars and changing global equations, India seized the opportunity to revive bilateral relations. What would persuade both to pursue level-headed pragmatism is the presence of a sizeable Indian and Indian-origin population in Canada, including about half a million Indian students, besides strong trade relations. Some of the areas of potential collaboration to cement the relationship will be in projects relating to clean energy, artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure, critical minerals and food security.

Another major outcome for India at the G7 Summit was Prime Minister Modi clearing the air around the claims of the US and its President Donald Trump regarding “mediation by the US” to end the recent conflict with Pakistan. India utilised the opportunity to issue a press statement stating that "PM Modi told President Trump clearly that during this period, there was no talk at any stage on subjects like India-US trade deal or US mediation between India and Pakistan". The statement by Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said: "Talks for ceasing military action happened directly between India and Pakistan through existing military channels, and on the insistence of Pakistan. Prime Minister Modi emphasised that India has not accepted mediation in the past and will never do." This should put to rest, for now, the political controversy in India.

PM Modi and the South Block diplomats can heave a sigh of relief with the two tangible gains on issues which were stirring the pot globally and generating heated political discussions at home in the last couple of years.