OTTAWA, CANADA: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has said evidence is available of Indian government involvement in target killings, putting India’s campaign of transnational repression under renewed international scrutiny and raising fresh concerns over New Delhi’s use of state-linked networks to pursue critics abroad.
In an interview, Carney said Canada had “some evidence” of heightened coordination relevant to protecting Canadians and others, while declining to discuss specific prosecutions. He said security cooperation between Canada and India had deepened and described progress in bilateral security engagement.
Asked whether transnational repression and interference by India had changed sufficiently to no longer pose a threat to Canadians of Indian descent, including Sikhs, Carney said Canada had made progress through deeper security cooperation but added that he could not guarantee that no crime would occur on Canadian soil.
The remarks come amid continuing scrutiny of India’s involvement in transnational repression in Canada. In October 2024, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said its investigations had uncovered information concerning violent criminal activity in Canada connected to agents of the Indian government and criminal networks. Canada subsequently expelled six Indian diplomats and consular officials.
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The issue has also centred on the 2023 killing of Canadian Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia. However, the evidentiary picture surrounding the case has evolved. In July 2026, the RCMP and US authorities announced charges against members of the Indian-associated Bishnoi crime network over the killing.
Separately, US prosecutors have charged an Indian government employee in connection with a foiled plot to assassinate a US-based Sikh activist in New York. The US Justice Department stated that the official provided information about the intended victim to an intermediary involved in the plot.
Carney’s latest comments indicate that, despite the restoration of diplomatic engagement between Ottawa and New Delhi, security concerns surrounding India-linked activity remain part of Canada’s bilateral discussions with India.
