Cold Summit, Warm Ties: Modi-Carney Meeting Rekindles India-Canada Relations At G-7

The recent G-7 Summit at Kananaskis, Canada, may not have lit up the global stage with dramatic breakthroughs, but it managed to spark at least one positive development—India and Canada agreed to reset their strained bilateral ties.

While the summit itself was marked by a conspicuous lack of consensus among participating leaders and even featured the abrupt exit of US President Donald Trump, who offered a flimsy excuse about “urgent work” back home, the real diplomatic progress unfolded on the sidelines. For the better part of a year, Indo-Canadian relations had been in deep freeze.

The assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a known Khalistani separatist, outside a gurdwara in British Columbia in 2023 triggered a diplomatic meltdown.

Then prime minister Justin Trudeau’s unsubstantiated allegation that Indian agents were involved in the killing provoked a swift denial from New Delhi and retaliatory moves from both sides. High commissioners were withdrawn, staff at diplomatic missions slashed, and services like student visas and trade facilitation ground to a frustrating halt.

Even more worrisome was the impact on ordinary people—especially the thousands of Indian students in Canada, who faced long delays in visa processing and disruption in essential consular services. The economic fallout was equally damaging, with bilateral trade showing a marked decline during the diplomatic standoff.

It became increasingly clear that the status quo was unsustainable. It is against this bleak backdrop that the meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Canada’s new Prime Minister Mark Carney came as a breath of fresh air. Carney, unburdened by the antagonism that coloured Trudeau’s tenure, extended an olive branch by inviting Modi to the G-7. Though India had been a regular invitee for over a decade, the gesture was meaningful. It signalled a willingness to move on from the past and focus on the future.

Of course, Canada cannot afford to overlook India’s global ascendance—soon to be the world’s fourth-largest economy—and its vast diaspora presence on Canadian soil, including the largest Sikh population outside India. Meanwhile, India has every reason to restore normalcy with a key educational, trade, and diplomatic partner.

The leaders’ dialogue reportedly identified several avenues for cooperation—from education and climate action to trade and technology. These are not mere diplomatic niceties but real areas where the two democracies can build lasting, mutually beneficial relationships. Restoring visa services and trade channels will be the immediate test of this thaw.

In a summit where global leaders struggled to agree on anything substantive, the Modi-Carney meeting stood out as a quiet but promising success. It served as a reminder that sometimes, the most consequential outcomes of such global gatherings occur not under the spotlight but on the margins.

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