Trudeau's return to power unlikely to help Indo-Canadian ties

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday congratulated Canadian Premier Justin Trudeau for his re-election but his returning to power is unlikely to augur well for the relations between the two countries.

The relations between India and Canada have not been hunky dory ever since Trudeau assumed power for the first time in 2015, mainly because of the encouragement he has been extending to the pro-Khalistani elements in his country.

Trudeau's Liberal Party on Monday retained power in a close election, although it fell short of a majority.

"Congratulations @JustinTrudeau. India and Canada are connected by shared values and a strong commitment to democracy as well as plurality. Looking forward to working together to further strengthen bilateral relations," Modi tweeted on Tuesday.

However, his expectation of further strengthening the bilateral relations is likely to be challenging, considering the fact that Trudeau has been ignoring India's requests for not supporting the pro-Khalistani elements in Canada.

Though the pro-Khalistan movement, which was articulated in the shape of terrorism in Punjab in 1980s has died down, some such elements have taken shelter in Canada and off and on try to defame India. This has been a major irritant in the Indo-Canadian relationship.

Former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper had kept such elements at bay and not encouraged them, resulting in an upswing the relations with India. It was during his tenure that the two countries signed the historic civil nuclear deal in 2010 during the visit of then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Canada.

The two countries embarked on expanding business ties and celebrated 'Year of India in Canada' in 2011.

Modi attempted to take that momentum forward as he visited Canada in April 2015, less than a year becoming the Prime Minister. The visit was marked by huge hype and signing of several agreements, including one on supply of uranium to India.

Harper went out of his way to make Modi's first visit to his country a grand success and dedicated three days to accompany the Indian Prime Minister on his events, including an address to the Indian diaspora.

Besides the agreement between Canadian company Cameco and NPCIL for supply of 3,000 tonnes of uranium to India, the two countries also inked pacts in the fields of space, railways and civil aviation after detailed talks between Modi and Harper.

Modi said the agreement for procurement of uranium from Canada marked "a new era" in the bilateral cooperation and "a new level of mutual trust and confidence".

The two leaders had attempted to take forward the relations, which have previously also been mostly stuck because of the pro-Khalistan factor.

The bilateral trade in 2015 stood at $6 billion, with Indian investment in Canada amounting to $4 billion.

To raise the bilateral trade, the two countries in 2010 started negotiations on Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) but it is yet to fructify.

Ever since Trudeau took over, the bilateral relations have been ridden by a lot of irritation caused because of encouragement to the pro-Khalistan elements.

India has been urging the Trudeau government to be sensitive to its concerns but these appeals have gone unheeded.

Making things worse was a report prepared by Canadian Border Services Agency in 2018, which suggested that Sikhs were facing "arbitrary arrests and abuse" at the hands of police in India.

India made its discomfort known when Trudeau undertook his first visit to this country in February last year, with Modi not receiving him at the airport, as he had been doing for most of the foreign leaders.

Though Modi and Trudeau held talks on the future of the relationship, the Indian administration kept the Canadian Prime Minister's visit a low-key affair, to convey a message.

Given the unease in India over Trudeau's policy of not being sensitive to India's concerns, the relations are unlikely to make any significant movement.

( With inputs from IANS )