India, Canada continue to rebuild ties after political reset

Toronto: As the two nations work to progressively strengthen their ties, high-level encounters are feasible this year, even though the recently appointed high commissioners are anticipated to start their positions in New Delhi and Ottawa later this month.

Late last month, the envoys were appointed, with Christopher Cooter serving as India‘s new high commissioner in New Delhi and Dinesh Patnaik serving as India’s new high commissioner in Ottawa. “This is a positive development and a big step in restoring confidence between the parties. The political reset we saw in June clearly has momentum,” Vina Nadjibulla, vice-president for research and strategy at the Asia-Pacific Foundation of Canada (APF Canada) said. She was referring to the meeting between Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on the margins of the G7 leaders’ summit in Kananaskis.

Heading the Canadian portion of the ongoing track 1.5 dialogue between the two nations, Nadjibulla stated that she was considering “potential markers” of the improvement, such as a potential meeting between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand later this month on the fringes of the UN General Assembly.

Other chances for interactions between the two nations’ leaders will be monitored, such as the G20 leaders’ summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, where Modi and Carney are anticipated to attend.

Only once the high commissioners have assumed responsibility will preparations for possible ministerial bilateral visits begin.

APF Canada and the Ananta Aspen Centre, based in New Delhi, are organizing the Canada-India conversation series, which is the track 1.5 process. Government representatives and other stakeholders are participating. Given that both governments approved it, their initial encounter in New Delhi in February of this year might have served as the first icebreaker following the breakdown of diplomatic relations in October 2024. After Ottawa requested that New Delhi remove the diplomats’ immunity so that they might be questioned in relation to an investigation into violent criminal activities in Canada, India withdrew six of its diplomats from that nation that month.

Six Canadian ambassadors were expelled by India in reprisal. It made an already delicate situation worse. On September 18, 2023, then-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told the House of Commons that there were “credible allegations” of a possible connection between Indian agents and the murder of pro-Khalistan activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, British Columbia, three months prior. India brushed those charges off as “motivated” and “absurd.”

A summit in Ottawa in October and another in New Delhi in November will mark the next stops on the 1.5 track.

Meetings for the 1.5 track will take place in Ottawa in October and New Delhi in November.