
Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, backtracks on bold claims about India’s involvement in a political assassination, revealing there’s no hard proof—just ‘intelligence.’
At a glance:
- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has admitted that Canada lacks “hard evidence” to support claims that Indian agents were involved in the assassination of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June 2023.
- Trudeau made the allegations public in September 2023, accusing the Indian government of orchestrating the killing, which sparked a diplomatic feud between the two countries.
- India has consistently rejected the claims as baseless, and Trudeau now says the accusations are based on intelligence rather than hard evidence, leading to ongoing tensions.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has revealed that his government does not have concrete evidence to support accusations that Indian agents were behind the assassination of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Speaking before the Canadian Foreign Interference Commission, Trudeau acknowledged that the claims, which triggered a major diplomatic rift between India and Canada, were based on intelligence rather than “hard evidence.”
The controversy began in September 2023, when Trudeau publicly accused India of being involved in Nijjar’s killing in Vancouver earlier that year. Nijjar, a prominent figure in the Khalistan movement—a Sikh separatist movement that India views as a terrorist organization—was shot dead outside a Sikh temple in British Columbia. India dismissed Trudeau’s accusations as “absurd,” and tensions quickly escalated, with both countries expelling diplomats.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul_KRZn_h-Q
Despite the serious nature of the allegations, Trudeau admitted on Wednesday that his claims were based on intelligence gathered by Canada and the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, which includes the U.S., U.K., Australia, and New Zealand. “We have no hard evidence, but the intelligence made it clear that India was involved,” he said. Trudeau reiterated his belief that agents from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government played a role in the assassination but conceded that more proof was lacking.
India’s Foreign Ministry has repeatedly criticized Canada for failing to provide evidence to back up the allegations. Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal noted that Canada has not shared any information with India since making the accusations public, and he rejected Trudeau’s assertion that Indian diplomats had refused to cooperate with Canadian authorities. India claims its diplomats were withdrawn before Canada’s expulsion orders could take effect.
The dispute has highlighted deeper concerns over foreign interference in Canadian politics and the fragile relationship between the two nations. Trudeau’s admission that Canada lacks hard proof has only intensified the controversy, as both countries grapple with the fallout from the unresolved murder investigation and its broader geopolitical implications.