Canada and India announced the appointment of new high commissioners to each other’s countries on Thursday. This move is the latest sign of improving relations that were strained by former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s accusation that India was involved in the assassination of a Sikh separatist leader on Canadian soil.
India’s previous high commissioner departed Canada in October. At the time, Ottawa stated he was one of six diplomats expelled for their alleged connection to the murder of separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, while India claimed it had withdrawn the envoy. On the same day, India ordered the expulsion of six high-ranking Canadian diplomats, including the then-acting high commissioner.
Trudeau’s successor, Mark Carney, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to reinstate senior diplomats during their first bilateral meeting in Canada in June. In a statement on Thursday, Canada’s foreign ministry announced that veteran diplomat Christopher Cooter would take on the role, which has been vacant since the previous incumbent left last year.
“The appointment of a new High Commissioner reflects Canada’s step-by-step approach to deepening diplomatic engagement and advancing bilateral cooperation with India,” Foreign Minister Anita Anand said in a statement. India’s foreign ministry confirmed that its new high commissioner, Dinesh K. Patnaik, is “expected to take up the assignment shortly.”
Nijjar, who was designated a terrorist by India in 2020, was shot and killed outside a Sikh temple in June 2023. That September, Trudeau stated that Canada was pursuing “credible allegations” linking Indian government agents to his death. India, however, dismissed these claims and accused Canada of providing a safe haven for Sikh separatists. Canada has the largest Sikh population outside of India’s Punjab state.
India is a key source of temporary foreign workers and international students for Canada, as well as an important market for agricultural products like lentils and yellow peas. Prime Minister Carney has consistently emphasized the importance of diversifying trade beyond the United States. The new high commissioner’s appointment came just one day after U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to double tariffs on imports from India to as much as 50% took effect, which dealt a serious blow to bilateral ties.
