India-Canada Seek "New Normal" Amid Khalistani Extremism Concerns

Amid efforts to reset India-Canada relationship, the phrase "building a new normal" reflects the situation more accurately than merely "rebuilding ties", with repairing trust as the immediate challenge and forging a stronger and more institutionalised strategic partnership as the larger objective, a report highlighted on Friday.

Writing for India Narrative, former Indian diplomat Sanjay Kumar Verma said that from New Delhi's viewpoint, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's recent India visit should be seen not as the end of a difficult phase but as the start of a new diplomatic equilibrium.

"Prime Minister Mark Carney's visit to India from 27 February to 2 March 2026 was significant not merely because it reopened a relationship that had gone badly off course, but because it indicated Ottawa's recognition that ties with New Delhi cannot remain hostage to episodic political crisis. It was Carney's first visit to India as Prime Minister and the first bilateral visit to India by a Canadian Prime Minister since 2018. The two sides deliberately described the outcome as a 'renewed India-Canada Strategic Partnership'," wrote Verma, who has previously served as the High Commissioner of India to Canada.

"The choice of words was important. It suggested that Canada was not merely repairing diplomatic damage following the tensions of 2023-24, but attempting to place the relationship on a wider and more durable strategic foundation. Yet, any serious analysis of this development must move beyond a narrow bilateral perspective. Canada's diplomacy in Asia is undergoing a broader recalibration," he added.

According to the Verma, Ottawa's efforts to stabilise and rebuild ties with India, are unfolding along with its growing engagement with Pakistan and maintaining a cautious, interest-based relationship with China.

"The real analytical question, therefore, is not whether Canada is 'returning' to India, but how Ottawa now ranks and differentiates its relationships with India, Pakistan and China. On present evidence, the hierarchy appears clear. Pakistan is being engaged more actively at a functional level; China remains too large and consequential to ignore but too difficult to trust; and India is the country Canada increasingly seeks to elevate into a major strategic pillar of its Indo-Pacific and global outlook," he detailed.

The hierarchy, Verma said, underscores the distinct roles that these three countries hold in Canada's foreign policy framework. He added that India is increasingly perceived in Ottawa as a partner in "trade diversification, supply-chain resilience, clean energy transition, critical minerals, advanced technology cooperation and Indo-Pacific stability".

Highlighting the evolving India-Canada relationship, the former Indian diplomat said, "From an Indian perspective, however, one major obstacle still stands in the way of a durable reset in relations: the trust deficit arising from extremist politics on Canadian soil. The relationship cannot stabilise meaningfully unless anti-India Khalistani extremism operating from within Canada is treated as a serious security concern. For New Delhi, this issue goes beyond domestic political debate in Canada and touches directly upon India's national security concerns."

- IANS