No clandestine activities in Canada linked to Indian govt: Police chief

Canada’s RCMP Chief Mike Duheme said there is currently no evidence of Indian-linked transnational repression in Canada. His remarks follow months of diplomatic tensions, with both countries now normalizing ties and advancing cooperation on uranium, minerals, and trade agreements

Ottawa: There are “no longer clandestine activities or transnational repression taking place” in Canada that are linked to the government of India, Canada’s police chief has said.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Commissioner Mike Duheme made the comments during an interview with CTV News.

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“We’re not seeing any connection right now with any foreign entity, based on the criminal information, the investigations that we have presently,” he said while responding to a question whether “transnational repression by agents of India” was still a concern.

“I’m saying that based on the totality of the files that we have on foreign interference or transnational repression, what we have in our holdings is we have people that are intimidating people, harassing people, but connecting the dots to a foreign entity, regardless of the country, we don’t have that,” Duheme said in the interview that would be aired on Sunday.

His comments came following months of diplomatic tensions between Canada and India.

In the last few months, India and Canada have taken several steps to normalise their relations.

India-Canada ties hit rock bottom following then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations in 2023 of a potential Indian link to the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. India dismissed Trudeau’s accusation as “absurd”.

In October 2024, India recalled its high commissioner and five other diplomats after Ottawa attempted to link them to the Nijjar case. India also expelled an equal number of Canadian diplomats.

However, Liberal Party leader Mark Carney’s victory in the parliamentary election in April last year helped in beginning the process to reset relations.

Subsequently, both sides have already posted their high commissioners in each other’s capitals.

Carney visited India earlier this month during which the two sides sealed key pacts on supplies of Uranium and critical minerals and vowed to soon conclude a comprehensive economic partnership agreement.