The last few days have been full of utter disgrace for Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. After a cold treatment at the G20 Summit hosted by India, he is finding himself isolated by all his allies in the Anglosphere. None of Canada’s alliance partners including the US, the UK, Australia or even New Zealand have extended support to him in his allegations that Indian agents were responsible for the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Khalistani terrorist, on Canadian soil.
According to Trudeau, Nijjar was not a terrorist but a Canadian citizen who was shot down at the behest of India. He made this allegation right from the floor of the Canadian Parliament before launching a failed bid to get Canada’s allies in the West to issue a joint statement against India at the G20 Summit. But neither his canvassing for support in the run-up to the summit worked nor his expectations after raising the issue at the Canadian Parliament succeeded.
At a time when China is raising the geopolitical temperature, all of Trudeau’s allies view India as an important partner, especially in the Indo-Pacific region. They also value India for its emerging market opportunity. It was obvious from the beginning that no country in the Anglosphere would side with Trudeau. Yet, Trudeau marched ahead and ended up jeopardising Canada’s relations with India for a long time to come. What explains this ridiculous behaviour by him?
Well, Trudeau is a political opportunist who, in the rush to play to the Khalistani gallery and in desperation to take attention away from pressing problems of Canada, has used India to project himself as someone who cares about his country deeply. But in reality, if there is one enemy of Canada’s national interest today, it has to be Trudeau himself.
Under the misrule of Trudeau, Canada has fallen from grace and has become another version of Pakistan but this time, in the West. So much that even their domestic and foreign policies today bear a close shade of semblance. Picture this, as Pakistan is braving hyperinflation with people struggling to fulfil their basic needs, the same is happening in the cities of Canada. The economy of the country has not recovered from the after-effects of Covid pandemic yet the skyrocketing inflation is eating away whatever little an average Canadian is able to earn today. In the last three years, the cost of living has increased by at least three times with housing rents witnessing a sharp increase, leaving many people homeless. Even as the price rise has made survival difficult, fears of a recession are also looming large over the Canadian economy. Various sectors including tech have witnessed little to no growth with the country’s economy having contracted in the last quarter.
Even as Canada is witnessing an economic downturn, the law and order situation in the country has become very concerning. Since 2016, more than 30,000 people have lost their lives due to drug overdose. Canada, like Pakistan, is fast emerging as the hub of narco-terrorism. But unlike Pakistan which is infested with Islamic terrorism, Canada is paying a heavy price for its appeasement of the Khalistani lobby. The country is today home to around 40-50 gangsters and drug peddlers who have escaped from India’s Punjab and have found a safe refuge in Canadian cities. Today, they are running transnational crime syndicates with drug supply, extortion and murders as their regular activities. Indo-Canadian drug cartel has become so notorious that many crimes, even in third countries, can be traced back to them. This year, New Zealand busted a shipment from Canada that was carrying a whopping 713 kg of drugs packed in bottles of maple syrup.
Even as Canada is falling prey to the designs of Khalistani terrorists, Justin Trudeau is a man who doesn’t care any less. He is busy appeasing the Khalistani elements in order to secure his political fortunes. The fate of his minority government is dependent on support from the New Democratic Party which has Jagmeet Singh, an arch-Khalistan supporter at the helm. Jagmeet is known for his separatist views and is often seen attending events organised by the Khalistanis. Ironically, the Sikh community in Canada may be a small percentage of the total Indian diaspora but politicians like Singh have built a political career by appeasing the radical sentiments of a section of this community. Trudeau, just like his alliance partner Jagmeet, is also a man who finds nothing wrong in the pro-Khalistan activities that are undertaken on Canadian soil.
In 2023 alone, more than ten hate crimes have taken place against Hindus in Canada but the Khalistan love supersedes any concern over rising Khalistani radicalism in Canadian society. It is not only unfortunate but also shameful that as soon as Justin Trudeau levelled baseless accusations against India in the House of Commons, ace Khalistani propagandist Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, who is otherwise an American citizen, released a video warning Canadian Hindus to leave Canada. The open support extended by Justin Trudeau to a terrorist like Nijjar has legitimised all the violence that takes place against Hindus in Canada by the Khalistani elements.
Doesn’t it sound similar to what happened in Pakistan as well? After all, the tacit support to Islamic extremism by the Pakistani state has brought the Hindu minorities in the country to the verge of extinction. How long before Canadian Hindus also become a fast-depleting minority?
Trudeau has not only endangered the safety of Hindus who call Canada their home but he has also snatched away the rights of an ordinary Canadian citizen to benefit from the changing geopolitical winds. Thanks to his tirade against India, the trade deal with India which could have benefitted the Canadian economy has now gone into a cold bag. Interestingly, Trudeau, who raised the issue of Indian interference in Canada, never bothered to take a similar stand when Pakistan and China meddled in Canada’s internal affairs. On one hand, he is charging India over the murder of a terrorist without proof and on the other hand, he stood silent over the murder of Karima Baloch, a Baloch activist who was living in Canada to escape persecution by the Pakistani state. Trudeau also took no action when Michael Chong, an opposition leader complained about being targeted by a Chinese diplomat. This was despite evidence provided by Canada’s own spy agency that he was being targeted by China for criticising it over its treatment of Uighur Muslims.
Trudeau will stay silent when the legitimate interests of Canadian citizens are under fire but he will not stay silent if even a single Khalistani terrorist is shot down because that serves his vote-bank. It is tragic that Canada is fast becoming a safe sanctuary for Khalistani terrorism. It has now become the equivalent of Pakistan in the Western Hemisphere. India has done the right thing by taking strict diplomatic action against Canada. The need of the hour is to economically boycott Canada and reduce access of Khalistani elements to India by cancelling OCI cards of those found complicit in the Khalistani agenda. Trudeau has alienated Canada from the Western world and the whole country will now pay the price of Khalistan appeasement by its prime minister.
The author is a PhD from the Department of International Relations, South Asian University. She writes on India’s foreign policy. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.