Mark Carney, the former central banker who is set to become Canada's next prime minister, has stated his plan to revive and deepen relations with India when he gets into office.
While speaking in Calgary last Tuesday, prior to his election as the leader of the ruling Liberal Party, Carney reiterated the importance of Canada seeking to increase its trade relationships with countries that are similar in values.
What Canada wants to do is diversify our trade relationships with like-minded nations," he said.
"There are opportunities to rebuild the relationship with India, if there is a mutual appreciation of values in our commercial relations. If I am prime minister, I hope to build that relationship," Carney said, as Canada seeks to overcome challenges from U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war and annexation threats.
India-Canada relations worsened after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's statement in September 2023 in the House of Commons that there were "credible allegations" Indian agents were involved in the murder of pro-Khalistan separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, British Columbia.
New Delhi, on the other hand, repeatedly denied these allegations, with India's Ministry of External Affairs stating that Canada had not presented "any evidence" to support the charges. Ottawa's move to make such accusations without evidence, India argued, further strained diplomatic relations.
Both countries took retaliatory actions in the wake of the scandal, recalling their respective ambassadors.
The harm done to India-Canada relations because of this cavalier attitude is all on the Prime Minister Trudeau's shoulders," the MEA declared in December after Trudeau acknowledged his accusations were predicated on intelligence and not on "hard evidentiary proof."
Carney, 59, takes over from Trudeau, who had in January announced that he was quitting but will still stay on in office until his replacement is formally sworn in over the next few days.
Having already guided Canada through economic downturns as Governor of the Bank of Canada, Carney won the party leadership contest overwhelmingly, taking 85.9 percent of the vote.
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