Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau participates in a news conference on the investigative efforts related to violent criminal activity occurring in Canada with connections to India, on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, on October 14, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

Canada has expelled six Indian diplomats and consular officials in relation to an investigation of the murder of a Sikh separatist leader in British Columbia last year, the Foreign Ministry said on Monday (October 14, 2024).

India earlier said it had ordered the expulsion of six top Canadian diplomats, including the acting High Commissioner, and said it had withdrawn its envoy from Canada, contradicting Canada’s statement that it had expelled the envoy.

Relations between the two countries have been fraught since last year, when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he had evidence linking Indian agents to the assassination of a Sikh separatist leader in his country.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said they had significant information on broad criminal activity orchestrated by agents of the government of India and used to target members of the South Asian community in Canada.

Here’s a timeline of the events have transpired:

June 18, 2023: Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 45, is shot dead outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, a Vancouver suburb with a large Sikh population. He was a Canadian citizen campaigning for the creation of an independent Sikh homeland carved out of India.

September 1, 2023: A Canadian trade official says Canada paused talks on a proposed trade treaty with India, an unexpected move that came about three months after both countries said they planned to seal an initial pact in 2023.

September 10, 2023: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveys strong concerns about Sikh separatist protests in Canada to Prime Minister Trudeau on the sidelines of a G20 summit in New Delhi.

September 18, 2023: Trudeau tells parliament that Canada was “actively pursuing credible allegations” linking Indian government agents to Nijjar’s killing.

September 19, 2023: India dismisses Trudeau’s assertion as “absurd.” Each country expels a diplomat in tit-for-tat moves, with Canada throwing out India’s top intelligence officer in the country while India expelled his Canadian counterpart.

September 22, 2023:India suspends issuing new visas for Canadians and asks Ottawa to reduce its diplomatic presence in India. India resumes issuing visas two months later.

October 19, 2023: Canada has withdrawn 41 diplomats from India amid a dispute over Nijjar’s murder, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly says.

October 29, 2023: Tens of thousands of Sikhs turn out in Surrey, British Columbia, at the same gurdwara, a Sikh house of worship, where Nijjar was killed to vote in an unofficial referendum on the creation of an independent Sikh state.

November 21, 2023: India’s National Investigation Agency files a case against Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a Sikh separatist, stating that he warned Air India passengers in video messages shared on social media that their lives were in danger.

November 22, 2023: A senior Biden administration official says U.S. authorities thwarted a plot to kill Pannun in the United States and issued a warning to India over concerns the New Delhi government was involved.

February 5, 2024: India’s High Commissioner says in an interview with Canada’s Globe and Mail newspaper that India will not provide information to Canadian investigators over Nijjar’s murder until Canada shares evidence.

April 30, 2024: The White House describes as a serious matter a Washington Post report that an officer in India’s intelligence service was directly involved in both Nijjar’s killing and the foiled plot to kill Pannun in the U.S.

India’s External Affairs Ministry said the report contained “unwarranted and unsubstantiated imputations.”

May 3, 2024: Canadian police charge three people linked to Nijjar’s murder, a source directly familiar with the matter says.

August 27, 2024: Canadian police warn Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, an aide to Nijjar, of an increased threat to his life, a prominent Sikh separatist says.

October 14, 2024: Canada expels six Indian diplomats including the High Commissioner, linking them to the murder of a Sikh separatist leader and alleging a broader effort to target Indian dissidents in Canada. India retaliates by ordering the expulsion of six high-ranking Canadian diplomats including the acting High Commissioner and said it had withdrawn its envoy from Canada, contradicting Canada’s statement of expulsion. Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says “We will never tolerate the involvement of a foreign government threatening and killing Canadian citizens on Canadian soil.”