India and Canada have named new high commissioners to each other’s countries, marking the latest move to rebuild relations strained by the 2023 killing of a Sikh separatist leader in a Vancouver suburb. India’s former high commissioner left Canada last October after Ottawa expelled him, alleging links between six Indian diplomats and the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a claim Delhi denied, saying he was recalled.
That same day, India expelled six senior Canadian diplomats, including the acting high commissioner. The reciprocal expulsions marked an unprecedented low in what had otherwise been a generally cordial relationship. Nijjar, whom India designated a terrorist in 2020, was shot dead by two gunmen outside a Sikh temple in Vancouver in June 2023.
Relations worsened months later after former prime minister Justin Trudeau claimed there were “credible allegations” linking Indian government agents to Nijjar’s killing. India dismissed the charges as “absurd and motivated” and accused Canada of harboring Sikh separatists.
During their first meeting in Canada in June, Prime Minister Modi and Trudeau’s successor Mark Carney agreed to reinstate senior diplomats, signaling a thaw in ties. Ottawa has since appointed Christopher Cooter as its new envoy to Delhi, while India has named Dinesh K Patnaik, currently ambassador to Spain, as its representative in Canada.
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