Carney says he raised foreign interference concerns in ‘frank’ talk with Modi

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Prime Minister Mark Carney said he raised Canadian concerns about foreign interference when he met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi but declined to say whether this included India’s alleged role in the 2023 slaying of Canadian Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Mr. Carney, speaking Wednesday in Sydney during a visit to Australia, had just wrapped up a four-day trade and goodwill mission to India, where he sought to repair relations after a diplomatic rupture of 2½ years triggered by foreign interference allegations levelled by former prime minister Justin Trudeau.

Mr. Trudeau had publicly accused New Delhi of a role in the murder of Mr. Nijjar and alleged that Indian diplomats were part of a campaign of violence against Sikh Canadians before expelling a number of them, including Mr. Modi’s top diplomat in Canada.

Asked whether he was confident India has ended foreign interference in Canada such as extortion and violence, Mr. Carney sidestepped the question, saying he believes not only in vigilance against such behaviour but “engagement” including at the highest levels on matters such as foreign interference and transnational repression “to ensure that the co-operation is there” with counterparts.

“There have been frank discussions, including my meetings with Prime Minister Modi in Delhi two days ago,” he said.

India dismisses allegation of link between Indian consulate and Nijjar assassination

The Prime Minister, however, declined to comment on a Globe and Mail report that Canadian national-security officials were presented with evidence that Indian consular staff in Vancouver had supplied information to assist in the assassination of Mr. Nijjar.

The Globe reported that an Indian intelligence officer, Kanwaljit Singh, had worked as a visa official in the consulate while also gathering information about Mr. Nijjar from members of the Indian diaspora in Surrey, B.C.

Mr. Carney said there is a criminal process under way and he does not want to jeopardize it. “My job at this point with respect to that process is to make sure that I do not say anything that prejudices the prospect of justice being served.”

Four Indian citizens who had come to Canada on temporary visas have been charged in the slaying. They are in jail awaiting trial in B.C. Supreme Court on charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

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The Prime Minister, however, distanced himself from controversial comments by a senior Canadian government official last week who told journalists at a Feb. 25 background briefing that Ottawa believes India is no longer conducting foreign interference or transnational repression in Canada. The statement was immediately challenged by national security experts who called it implausible.

“I would not use those words,” Mr. Carney said of the assertions at the briefing.

The official, whom The Globe is not identifying because they were not authorized to speak publicly, had said that Mr. Carney wouldn’t be travelling to India if the South Asian country was still meddling in Canada.

“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.

Industry Minister Mélanie Joly, who previously served as foreign affairs minister, declined to say Tuesday whether India has ceased foreign interference in Canada. “It’s not for me to have an opinion whether there is or not,” she said, speaking to reporters at an unrelated event in Winnipeg.

Evidence links Indian officials at Vancouver consulate to killing of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar

India has long been at odds with a small group of Sikh Canadians who advocate from Canada for carving a homeland called Khalistan out of Indian territory. New Delhi since the 1980s has complained that Canada provides a haven for Khalistanis while Ottawa has pointed to protections for free speech in this country.

In his Sydney press conference, Mr. Carney sidestepped a question of whether he believes the Indian government is currently involved in acts of extortion or violence inside Canada.

He instead said Canada has a responsibility to guard against interference by other countries, noting his government has introduced measures on “tightening our asylum system, tightening our borders,” provided more resources to police and is setting up a foreign agent registry to track those working for non-Canadian governments.

Mr. Carney’s remarks are the first he’s made to the media since he began a 10-day overseas trip Feb. 26. He is currently in Sydney, Australia, after four days in India, and later heads to Japan.

Mr. Carney was asked Wednesday whether he agrees with Mr. Trudeau, who in September, 2023, said Canada had “credible allegations of a potential link between agents of the government of India” and the slaying of Mr. Nijjar. He declined to say.

The Prime Minister said, however, there has been progress on fighting meddling by other countries. He said he receives regular intelligence briefings on foreign interference but cannot make their contents public.

“I will tell you that there is progress on these issues, and that progress is a product, in my judgment, of the resources we’re putting in. It’s a product of the clarity of our position: We will not tolerate foreign interference, transnational repression, by anyone,” he said.

Ahead of Mr. Carney’s trip, the World Sikh Organization, a critic of Mr. Modi’s government, said the statements from the Canadian official about an end to Indian foreign interference “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.

With reports from Temur Durrani, Greg Mercer and Mike Hager