India actively interfering in Canada’s polls: Federal inquiry

The report said that Canada and India have worked together for decades, but there were “challenges in the relationship”.

An inquiry into Canada’s recent elections has alleged that India was the “second most active country engaging in electoral foreign interference”, with only China having a greater impact on the country’s democratic processes.

A Canadian flag flies in front of the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. (REUTERS FILE)

The report of the public inquiry into federal electoral processes and democratic institutions, headed by justice Marie-Josee Hogue, was released on Tuesday.

“India is the second most active country engaging in electoral foreign interference in Canada. Like the PRC (People’s Republic of China), India is a critical actor on the world stage,” the report said, further accusing Russia, Pakistan and Iran of interference.

The report further said that Canada and India have worked together for decades, but there were “challenges in the relationship”.

Many of these, it said, were long standing and inform India’s foreign interference activities. “India perceives Canada as not taking India’s national security concerns about Khalistani separatism (the goal of an independent Sikh homeland in northern India called “Khalistan”) sufficiently seriously,” it said.

The third of the seven-volume report stated, “India does not appear to differentiate between lawful pro-Khalistan political advocacy and the relatively small number of Canada-based Khalistani violent extremists.”

It also alleged that India conducts such interference through “diplomatic officials in Canada and through proxies”.

“A body of intelligence indicates that proxy agents may have, and may continue to be, clandestinely providing illicit financial support to various Canadian politicians in an attempt to secure the election of pro-India candidates or gain influence over candidates who take office,” it said.

However, it added that the intelligence does not necessarily indicate that the elected officials or candidates involved were aware of the interference attempts, or that the attempts necessarily succeeded.

“India also uses disinformation as a key form of foreign interference against Canada, a tactic likely to be used more often in the future,” it said. It noted that India’s activities “primarily target the approximately 800,000 members of the Sikh diaspora in Canada and aim to promote a pro-India and anti-Khalistan narrative”.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau established the inquiry after media reports based on leaked intelligence alleged interference with Canada’s 2019 and 2021 elections. Hogue’s report is based on public hearings and classified documents.

The report referred to the statement by Trudeau in the House of Commons on September 18, 2023, that there were “credible allegations” of a potential link between Indian agents and the killing of pro-Khalistan figure Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia. It also alluded to the expulsion of six Indian diplomats and officials in October last year for their alleged link to violent criminal activity in Canada.

The report also appeared to acknowledge India’s concerns over the pro-Khalistan movement in Canada. It said that according to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service or CSIS “India has some legitimate basis for concerns about the security threat posed by Khalistani extremism in Canada. Some extremists have engaged in threat-related activities directed at India from within Canada, notably by coordinating and funding terrorist activities in India.”

But, it added, as per CSIS, “the vast majority of Khalistan supporters are peaceful.”

“Any effective response to foreign interference must consider the realities of transnational repression in Canada,” the report said.

India has rejected all allegations of interfering in Canada’s internal affairs and elections. New Delhi had described Trudeau’s statement as “absurd” and “motivated”.