Explained : India no longer seen as conducting foreign interference in Canada, senior official says and Its Impact

The Canadian government does not believe India is still meddling in this country through foreign interference, transnational repression or violence, activities Ottawa has previously linked to New Delhi.

A senior government official spoke to journalists at a background briefing Wednesday on Prime Minister Mark Carney’s trip to India, which is set to begin on Friday. He repeatedly said that Canada is of the opinion that the Indian government is no longer conducting any such activity.

The statement is a significant change from 16 months ago, when Canada expelled six Indian diplomats, including the country’s high commissioner. Then-prime minister Justin Trudeau had accused Indian diplomats of being part of a campaign of violence against Canadians.

Mr. Carney is trying to reset relations with India after a diplomatic freeze that lasted years over alleged foreign interference in Canada, including the 2023 murder in Surrey, B.C., of a Sikh-Canadian activist who sought an independent homeland in India.

Carney to visit Mumbai, New Delhi but not Punjab in business-focused India trip

Mr. Trudeau later publicly accused India of playing a part in the killing, something the country’s leadership continues to deny.

Asked whether Canada still believes India is engaged in transnational repression or foreign interference, the Canadian official said Ottawa is of the opinion this has ceased. The official did not explain how the government had arrived at this conclusion.

“If we believed that the government of India was actively interfering in the Canadian democratic process, we probably would not be taking this trip,” the official said of Mr. Carney’s visit to India.

Asked about allegations that agents of the Indian government are engaged in extortion or threats of violence in Canada, the official told reporters Ottawa believes this is no longer happening, citing a high-level communication channel on security that has been set up to discuss these matters.

“We have a very robust diplomatic engagement, including between national security advisers, and I think we can say we’re confident that that activity is not continuing, or we would not be having this type of discussion,” the official said.

While in India, Mr. Carney will meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and is expected to pursue new markets and investment to replace business lost or threatened because of the increasingly protectionist trade policy of the United States.

Back in 2024, Canada expelled six Indian diplomats after the RCMP had deemed them “persons of interest” in an investigation probing what the force described as a campaign of alleged violence, extortion and intimidation directed at the Sikh diaspora by agents of Mr. Modi’s government.

And in January 2025, a public inquiry report flagged India as the “second most active country engaging in electoral foreign interference in Canada” after China.

Asked for comment, the Prime Minister’s Office said Canada will continue to combat any transnational repression, cross-border organized crime or “any contravention of the Criminal Code or rule of law” on Canadian soil.

“The safety and security of Canadians will always be our government’s top priority,” said Audrey Champoux, deputy director of communications in the PMO.

She said an “ongoing law enforcement dialogue” will continue to be the basis of a step-by-step approach to re-engagement with India.

Opinion: Canada’s relationship with India is set to evolve

Canada and India have set up communications channels on security and crime issues to address problems early on.

The Indian government has for decades been upset with some Sikhs in Canada and other overseas communities who advocate carving an independent Sikh homeland out of India.

The World Sikh Organization (WSO), a critic of Mr. Modi’s India, said the statements from the Canadian government “don’t reflect the reality being experienced” by members of the Sikh community in Canada.

“We are seeing individuals being harassed by Indian officials and families being intimidated. I can say with complete conviction that the claim by the government official is utterly false,” Balpreet Singh, legal counsel for the WSO, said.

Mr. Singh said a prominent Sikh activist in Vancouver was recently warned by police of a credible threat to his life.

“The Carney government has failed to hold India accountable or to create any safeguards.”

He alleged that “clearly for this government, Canadian sovereignty and the rule of law and even human lives are secondary to economic interests.”

Jody Thomas, who served as national security adviser under Mr. Trudeau, said she does not have access to current government intelligence, but that she finds it hard to believe that “things have resolved themselves to the point described” in reports of the briefing for media.

“It would be lovely to know that all of the threats and the interference have ended,” Ms. Thomas said. “That would be a really positive thing.” But, she added, “it would surprise me.”

Stephanie Carvin, a former national security analyst and now a professor at Carleton University, said she does not believe Indian meddling in Canada has ended.

“India has been engaged in foreign interference in Canada since the 1980s. It did not stop this week because of a few official exchanges,” Prof. Carvin said.

She also criticized the message from the briefing.

“It is concerning to see foreign interference being downplayed in this way by a senior Canadian official. It seems to be bordering on the politicization of intelligence,” Prof. Carvin said.

She said the Public Inquiry on Foreign Interference, which issued its final report in 2025, warned against politicization of intelligence stemming, Prof. Carvin said, “either from ignorance of the threat or blind opportunism — neither of which is good.”