Canada, India name new high commissioners in step toward ‘deepening’ ties – National

Canada and India announced Thursday they have appointed new high commissioners to each other’s countries, a step towards “deepening” diplomatic ties despite multiple allegations of foreign interference by Indian agents on Canadian soil.

Christopher Cooter, a diplomat with 35 years of experience who served in New Delhi more than 25 years ago, will serve as Canada’s new high commissioner to India, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said.

“The appointment of a new High Commissioner reflects Canada’s step-by-step approach to deepening diplomatic engagement and advancing bilateral cooperation with India,” Anand said in a statement.

“This is an important development toward restoring services for Canadians while strengthening the bilateral relationship to support Canada’s economy.”

India’s foreign ministry said its new high commissioner to Canada, Dinesh K. Patnaik, is “expected to take up the assignment shortly.” Patnaik had served as India’s ambassador to Spain since 2021.

The diplomatic appointments were agreed to in a meeting between Prime Minister Mark Carney and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was invited to June’s G7 summit in Alberta. The leaders agreed to strengthen diplomatic and economic ties.

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Both Canada and India are seeking to diversify their economies in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s global tariff policies. Trump’s tariffs on India were raised to 50 per cent on Wednesday, while U.S. tariffs on Canada jumped to 35 per cent on Aug. 1.

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The G7 summit saw leaders agree to combat “transnational repression” — something India has been repeatedly accused of conducting in Canada.

The two countries’ previous high commissioners left their posts last October, after Ottawa and New Delhi expelled high-ranking diplomats in tit-for-tat moves.

Canada’s expulsions were announced quickly after the RCMP publicly revealed it has a significant amount of information on criminal activity allegedly orchestrated by agents of the Indian government.

Global News reported at the time that agents working out of India’s high commission in Ottawa and consulates in Vancouver and Toronto were behind dozens of violent crimes across Canada that targeted opponents of Modi’s government.

The Indian agents, who held diplomatic and consular positions, allegedly played key roles in a wave of shootings, killings, threats, arsons and extortions in Canada, according to senior sources familiar with the matter.

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Relations have been strained since 2023, when former prime minister Justin Trudeau publicly accused Indian government agents of being involved in the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh separatist leader, in Surrey, B.C., earlier that same year.

India has repeatedly denied the allegations and accused Canada of pursuing a political agenda while harbouring Sikh activists, which Modi’s government has labelled as “terrorists.”

New Delhi paused visa services at its Canadian consulates for two months following Trudeau’s allegation.

A senior Indian intelligence officer has also been accused in U.S. court documents of recruiting a businessman to try and assassinate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a close associate of Nijjar and a Canadian and U.S. citizen. Pannun heads Sikhs For Justice, a New York-based group that advocates for the creation of the Sikh nation of Khalistan.

Global News revealed in June that a suspected Indian government agent had former New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh under close surveillance, prompting the RCMP to place him in police protection.

Modi attended the G7 summit in Canada days after those details were reported.

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At the time, the Prime Minister’s Office defended Carney’s invitation to Modi while saying that “any form of attempted foreign interference is unacceptable.”

“As prime minister of the fifth largest economy and the world’s most populous country, Prime Minister Modi was invited to participate in some of these critical discussions,” wrote Audrey Champoux, a spokesperson for the PMO.

“Importantly, Prime Minister Carney and Prime Minister Modi agreed to continued law enforcement dialogue and discussions to address serious security concerns.”

India was named as the second-most active country involved in foreign interference operations in Canada, behind only the People’s Republic of China, in Justice Marie-Josée Hogue’s federal inquiry into the matter.

The federal Conservatives and B.C. Premier David Eby have called on Ottawa to label the India-based Lawrence Bishnoi gang, which has been linked to extortions and other crimes against South Asian community members across Canada, as a terrorist organization.

—With files from Global’s Saba Aziz, Stewart Bell, Mercedes Stephenson and Alex Boutilier 

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