Trudeau says Modi targeted Canadians to 'prove a point'

OTTAWA, Canada — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says India brazenly coordinated violent crime in Canada to “prove a point” that Ottawa “doesn't take seriously violence or terrorism or incitements to hatred.”

That accusation comes after new and explosive allegations from Canadian police that Indian diplomats were gathering intelligence and helping to coordinate attacks in Canada on Khalistan supporters and opponents of the Modi government.

Canada and India expelled 12 diplomats this week in a tit-for-tat exchange, including the top envoys in each country, plunging relations to a new 40-year low and gripping the world’s attention.

“The Indian government made a horrific mistake in thinking that they could interfere as aggressively as they did in the safety and sovereignty of Canada, and we need to respond in order to ensure Canadians' safety,” Trudeau said Wednesday in testimony at a formal public inquiry into foreign interference.

He said the Indian government was orchestrating violence in Canada to make its point.

“It seems like folks within the Indian government have decided to create violence and unlawfulness in Canada as a way of demonstrating the point that they are trying to make,” he said.

Five Eyes members are backing up Canada, albeit carefully.

“They’re serious allegations and we have wanted to see India take them seriously and cooperate with Canada’s investigation,” U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Tuesday. “They have chosen an alternate path.”

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Trudeau spoke about the issue on Tuesday and the Foreign Office produced a statement Wednesday saying India’s “cooperation with Canada’s legal process is the right next step.”

Canada’s Royal Canadian Mounted Police made a rare move on Monday by revealing evidence linking diplomats to multiple homicides and other violent acts on Canadian soil.

Ongoing investigations and court cases would normally render the national police organization mute, given the workings of Canada’s judicial system.

This week’s bombshell revelations come on the heels of a 2023 slaying of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh in Surrey, British Columbia, that frayed Canada-India relations after Trudeau stood in Parliament to accuse India of involvement.

Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said Monday that such violence in Canada has only increased since his murder.

During Wednesday’s hearing, Trudeau disclosed that Canadian officials connected Nijjar’s killing to the Indian government only after members of the Canadian South Asian community and lawmakers persistently pressured the government.

The Trudeau government initially suspected the high-profile killing was gang related, but asked Canadian intelligence agencies to investigate after diaspora members urged officials to probe whether it was connected with the Modi government.

When Trudeau raised the issue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G20 in Delhi in 2023, the Indian government responded by attacking Canada through the media trying to “undermine our government” and the “integrity of our democracy.”