Much has been written lately about Prime Minister Mark Carney’s decision to invite Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the upcoming G7 conference hosted by Canada in Kananaskis, Alberta. And make no mistake, this is Carney’s decision. It is the host country that gets to pick and choose who will be invited in addition to representatives of the G7 countries themselves. Other hosts in recent years have used the occasion to make political statements, notably by inviting Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Carney, on the other hand, has made it clear that his rationale for inviting Modi is economic – “India has the fifth largest economy in the world” – and he also noted, somewhat defensively, that Modi had attended previous G7 meetings at the invitation of other host countries.[i]
On the whole, the domestic response to Carney’s decision to invite Modi appears to be somewhat more favourable than negative. Not surprisingly, support for this decision is to be found most notably among former diplomats and economic advisers, based on the perceived need for realpolitik (a pragmatic rather than philosophical or ethical approach to politics) and the pursuit of economic advantage in these turbulent times. But a significant base of public opinion, especially among the large Canadian Sikh community, has been vigorously opposed.[ii] This is particularly true in BC, where the Indian government’s sponsored assassination of a Canadian citizen took place barely two years ago, and an investigation and criminal proceedings are ongoing. Modi’s invitation has also been opposed by a wide range of human rights activists and legal scholars who have noted that state-sponsored killings such as the one attributed to Modi’s government are a clear violation of the right to life, the rule of law, and state sovereignty, and one for which, in this case, no admission of guilt or retribution have been forthcoming.[iii]
The significance of this clearcut division of views is complicated by muddled thinking on the part of many proponents of the Modi invitation. For example, many of those who support Modi’s attendance have simultaneously expressed outrage at Carney’s decision to also invite Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman, the man believed to be behind the grisly 2018 assassination of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul. Since both of these atrocities were state-sponsored targeted killings, representing the most extreme example of transnational aggression,[iv] it is difficult to understand why the response to the invitations of the two men should differ. (Carney at least has been consistent, citing an economic rationale for bin Salman’s invitation as well, because Saudi Arabia is the largest producer of oil and most influential member of OPEC.)
It is also worth noting that Modi’s human rights record is at least as offensive as that of bin Salmon. As outlined in an earlier blog,[v] before Modi’s election as prime minister in 2014 his actions as a government official and state-level politician had already been highly controversial. Both the UK and the US denied him an entry visa because they considered him complicit in the murder of more than 1,000 Muslims in the so-called Gujurat Riots, a fact he has tried hard to conceal.[vi] Since his election in 2014 he has steadily dismantled India’s liberal democracy to the point where many analysts consider the country is now an illiberal autocracy similar to Orban’s Hungary and Erdogan’s Turkey. In addition Modi has spent a decade reviving racial and religious strife in India by promoting the Hindu religion and “values” through legislation, political propaganda and disinformation, while simultaneously demonizing and disenfranchising the large Muslim minority and vigorously promoting the false image of a violent, terrorist Sikh diaspora to the general Indian population.[vii] This latter effort is all the more striking given that Sikhs represent barely 1.7% of the Indian population and the vast majority are not interested in the concept of Khalistan and/or separation.
More recently, Modi has successfully inflamed public opinion in India against Canada, primarily by launching a lengthy disinformation campaign claiming this country is “harboring terrorists” who are plotting violence in India. His influence on the national media was epitomized in January 2025 when they enthusiastically and wrongly reported that the four Indian nationals accused of having committed the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada had been released from custody due to lack of evidence, a claim the RCMP and the Canadian government were repeatedly obliged to deny.[viii]
As one in depth CNN report noted, the Indian government has aggressively pursued many other Sikh supporters of Khalistan abroad because they have organized peaceful protests and symbolic events, such as referenda on separation, in many western democracies. In most cases the Modi government has responded by listing them as terrorists and demanding they be placed on Interpol’s ‘Red Notice’ lists. According to the CNN report:
“A number of groups associated with the idea of Khalistan are listed as “terrorist organizations” under India’s Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Nijjar’s name appears on the list of UAPA terrorists and in 2020, the Indian National Investigation Agency accused him of “trying to radicalize the Sikh community across the world in favor of the creation of ‘Khalistan.’”
Several Sikh organizations overseas say the movement is being falsely equated with terrorism by the Indian government, and say they will continue to peacefully advocate for the creation of Khalistan, while bringing to light what they say is years of human rights abuses faced by the community in India.[ix]
This aggression culminated in the targeted assassination of a Canadian citizen, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in June 2023. In addition to the RCMP and CSIS,[x] both the CIA and sources in the Five Eyes intelligence network identified the involvement of high-level Indian government officials in this act, including Modi’s close confidant and National Security Adviser, Ajit Doval. As numerous international commentators have noted, this event has also highlighted the widespread transnational activities of India’s secret service in Canada and elsewhere.[xi] Over the following two years the tension between the two countries has escalated, with both states recalling their diplomats and India at one point refusing travel visas to Canadians.
It is in this context that the issue of Modi’s invitation to the G7 meeting here in Canada must be considered a serious mistake for at least five reasons:
1.The argument that this invitation is a classic example of realpolitik, both for economic advantage and to bridge the current diplomatic impasse through discussions between the leaders, does not hold water.
Yes, the current disruption in the world order requires a degree of pragmatism. And yes, it would be good to reduce Canada-India tensions, for example by re-establishing some level of diplomatic relations with India. But realpolitik does not mean that we need to start at the top, especially with someone like Modi. Nor does it mean we need to do this in such a public fashion. On the contrary, a far better example of realpolitik is the behind-the-scenes negotiations organized by the prime minister between bureaucrats and lower-level politicians in Canada and the US to resolve the ongoing trade dispute. This is exactly the type of realpolitik that is not only desirable but most likely to succeed. It is also the way in which the thorny Two Michaels/Meng Wanzhou problem was resolved with China.
Equally important is the fact that, despite the political impasse, trade relations between the two countries have not been affected. As the Conference Board of Canada has concluded, “despite turbulence in the relationship, trade between the two nations has remained relatively stable and largely free of punitive restrictions.”[xii] So much for the economic advantage argument.
2. This move to regularize Modi is premature to say the least.
As columnist Campbell Clark has so effectively pointed out, Nijjar’s murder is still the subject of an ongoing criminal case in which not all of the culprits have been apprehended and no trials have yet taken place. In Clark’s view, “Carney should know it is way too soon to invite the Indian PM to Canada.”[xiii] Four Indian nationals are currently charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder, but after a brief court appearance in April 2025 the actual trials were not set to begin until mid-June. If they proceed, these trials could be headline news at the very same time the G7 meetings are unfolding next door in Alberta. (Which leads to the obvious question, will there be a convenient delay in trial proceedings?) Regardless, the events of June 2023 are still very fresh in the minds of the Sikh community and many other Canadians. And while Modi may have been invited to other G7 meetings, those host countries had not been subject to such violations of their national sovereignty.
3. Modi has consistently denied everything, and refuses to cooperate with the investigation, dismissing all claims of Indian involvement as “absurd.”
Even Mohammad bin Salman realized he could not simply continue to deny,deny, deny. To save face, and maintain a shred of international credibility, he threw several of his agents and even a close adviser under the bus, and then claimed he was personally unaware of the plot. It is almost beyond belief that Modi has not taken that route.
This intransigence is particularly significant since there is so much evidence refuting Modi’s denials of his government’s involvement. In addition to the evidence collected in Canada, charges laid by the FBI in the United States against an Indian intelligence agent (later conveniently described as an ex-intelligence agent) specifically mentioned his involvement in contracts on Canadian targets as well.[xiv] Interestingly, the Indian government initially agreed to cooperate with American law enforcement agents in that case, but this has not been true for Canada. Repeated requests by Canadian officials for cooperation from their Indian counterparts have fallen on deaf ears, despite high level meetings at which damning evidence was shown to these counterparts, and to politicians including Modi himself.
When asked about this during his press conference on the G7 invitation, Carney stated that Canada and India have “agreed to engage in dialogue with respect to reinforcing law enforcement between the two countries.”[xv] Whatever this may mean, it is clearly not a commitment to assist in any way in the ongoing investigation into the Nijjar assassination. In short, it appears that we have given up ethical considerations for no purpose. In exchange for inviting Modi, a la realpolitik, we have received nothing in the way of concessions from him.
4. India’s Transnational Repression in Canada Continues
The Nijjar targeted killing is far from the full extent of India’s transnational aggression in Canada in recent years. The 2023 report of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliament, and the report of the Hogue Commission on Foreign Interference, issued in January 2025, both concluded that India is the second worst offender in terms of a wide range of foreign intervention tactics in this country, including physical intimidation, bribery and extortion, second only to China. In 2024 the RCMP directly warned the general public about a rash of crimes including murder, extortion and coercion linked to Indian government agents.[xvi] Prime Minister Trudeau repeated this warning in a statement in late 2024. [xvii]
Perhaps most damning is the report this week – less than one week before the G7 meeting – that former NDP leader Jagmeet Singh was provided with an RCMP security detail due to credible threats tied to India.[xviii] Meanwhile officials from the World Sikh Organization held a press conference on June 12 at which they revealed that an additional twelve individuals in Canada have been identified by the RCMP as targets of Indian government agents.[xix]
Given the enormous political capital invested by opposition parties in the foreign interference issue for the two years leading up to the recent federal election, to say nothing of the aggressive role played by the media in pursuing this topic, it is little short of astonishing that none of them have sounded the alarm over this ongoing serious transnational aggression.
5. A Significant Proportion of the Population Feels Betrayed
Canada has the largest Sikh diaspora in the world, and proportionally more Sikhs than India. Many came here to escape discrimination, violence and persecution there. As long as their activities in Canada are lawful and non-violent, they are of no concern to Canadian authorities and obviously should not be the target of interest by a foreign power. Given the Indian government’s refusal to acknowledge any responsibility for the assassination of a Canadian citizen within the Sikh community, and the ongoing nature of the criminal investigation, as well as the ongoing targeting of Sikh Canadians by that government, the decision to invite the head of that government to such an important international event can hardly be seen as anything less than a dismissal of those Canadians’ concerns and rights. Many spokespersons have made this case, including a BC Liberal MP. [xx]
Moreover, since the International Centre for Counter Terrorism correctly notes that all types of transnational aggression are “likely to increase… because states are rarely held accountable”, [xxi]it would seem that the new Carney government has missed an ideal opportunity to lead the way by taking the matter to the International Court of Justice, rather than looking the other way.
[i] https://globalnews.ca/news/11218211/liberal-mp-critical-carney-modi-g7-invite/
[ii] Canadians’ favourable opinion of India has also plummeted from 56% to 26% in the past two years, according to a joint poll by Angus Reid and the Asia Pacific Foundation
[iii] at https://icct.nl/publication/india-canada-rift-sikh-extremism-and-rise-transnational-repression
[iv] For a detailed discussion of these two internationally recognized concepts, see the report of the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism, at https://icct.nl/publication/india-canada-rift-sikh-extremism-and-rise-transnational-repression
[v] https://brookejeffrey.ca/under-modi-indias-illiberal-autocracy-gives-new-meaning-to-foreign-interference/
[vi] https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/21/india-asks-youtube-twitter-to-block-links-of-bbc-film-on-modi-gujarat-riots
[vii] For more details see https://newsroom.carleton.ca/story/hindu-nation-india-citizenship-act-legalizes/
[viii] https://globalnews.ca/news/10950773/indian-press-disinformation-nijjar-murder-suspects/
[ix] https://edition.cnn.com/2023/09/22/india/india-canada-sikh-activist-row-friday-intl-hnk
[x] https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/rcmp-duheme-india-highest-levels-1.7363981
[xi] https://www.france24.com/en/asia-pacific/20230926-sikh-leader-nijjar-murder-canada-spotlight-raw-shadowy-indian-spy-agency
[xii] https://www.conferenceboard.ca/insights/trade-partner-profile-india/
[xiii] https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/opinion/article-carney-modi-too-soon-for-invite/
[xiv] https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/17/us/politics/indian-intelligence-officer-assassination.html
[xv] https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/opinion/article-carney-modi-too-soon-for-invite/
[xvi] https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/why-is-india-mad-at-canada-a-look-at-whats-driving-the-chill-between-the-two-countries
[xvii] https://www.trtworld.com/us-and-canada/clear-indications-india-violated-canadas-sovereignty-trudeau-18221069
[xviii] https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-jagmeet-singh-police-protection-threats-sikh-leaders/
[xix] https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/sikh-activists-targeted-1.7559679
[xx] https://www.baaznews.org/p/carneys-g7-invite-to-modi-sikhs-protest; https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/disinviting-liberal-mps-from-sikh-temples-under-consideration-as-fallout-continues-from-modi-g7-invite/ar-AA1GBipH
[xxi] at https://icct.nl/publication/india-canada-rift-sikh-extremism-and-rise-transnational-repression
