OTTAWA/NEW DELHI — Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand is expected to travel to India in October for talks with her counterpart, External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, as both countries move to reset ties strained since 2023.
Diplomatic sources confirmed the visit but said the exact dates are still being finalized. It will mark the first high-level ministerial trip between the two countries since relations soured under the previous Justin Trudeau government, which accused New Delhi of involvement in plots targeting Sikh separatist leaders in Canada.
Momentum for Reset
Anand’s visit follows a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and new Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in June, which helped open the door to rebuilding relations. Since then, both sides have signaled readiness to move past the crisis.
India’s new High Commissioner to Canada, Dinesh Patnaik, officially assumed his role last week at a ceremony in Ottawa. Meanwhile, New Delhi has hinted at restoring the full complement of Canadian diplomatic staff after reducing their protections in October 2023, which forced 41 Canadian envoys to leave.
Last Friday, India’s foreign ministry said both governments have agreed to “constructively address capacity-related issues” at embassies and consulates, a key step toward normalization.
Backdrop of Tensions
Relations hit their lowest point in September 2023 when then-prime minister Justin Trudeau publicly alleged Indian involvement in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh separatist leader. The accusations triggered tit-for-tat expulsions of diplomats and a near-collapse of official dialogue.
India has consistently denied the claims, and Carney’s election victory in April has provided space for a diplomatic reset.
Anand’s trip is expected to focus on building confidence and reopening dialogue across trade, education, and diaspora issues while managing disagreements. Both countries view a reset as critical given the size of their people-to-people ties and overlapping interests in the Indo-Pacific.