Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), the pro-Khalistan advocacy group whose Canadian chapter was once led by Hardeep Singh Nijjar before his killing in 2023, will hold another independence referendum in Ottawa on Sunday. The vote coincides with Prime Minister Mark Carney’s scheduled bilateral meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G20 summit in South Africa.
This non-binding referendum is the seventh organized by SFJ in Canada since September 2022, when the first vote took place in Brampton. That event was quickly followed by India issuing a travel advisory warning its nationals of alleged “hate crimes” and “anti-India activities” in Canada. Subsequent rounds were held in Surrey, Mississauga, and Calgary, with organizers claiming turnout numbers CBC News was unable to verify.
Although Ottawa has a smaller Sikh population than Toronto or Vancouver, organizers say they expect voters to travel from Quebec and other regions to participate.
The Indian government has long dismissed the referendum movement as a challenge to its sovereignty. But in response to questions from CBC News, India’s High Commission adopted a restrained tone, saying only: “This is a referendum by Canadians in Canada and the High Commission has no comments to give on this issue.”
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand, speaking Saturday at the G20 summit, said Carney’s meeting with Modi had been planned well in advance and was not intended to send a message regarding the referendum. She emphasized that the focus of discussions with India remains public safety, law enforcement cooperation, and security matters at home.
Inderjeet Singh Gosal, who now leads SFJ in Canada following Nijjar’s killing, has himself been the subject of repeated threats. He was arrested in September during an OPP traffic stop in Whitby, Ont., and is facing firearms-related charges. Two other activists arrested with him had their charges withdrawn, but Gosal’s case is still before the courts. Despite warnings from the RCMP about credible threats to his life, he has declined protective measures that would require him to pause his political advocacy.
Gosal told CBC News that Sunday’s referendum will include enhanced security, with private guards and police present at the voting site. The event—initially scheduled for the Billings Estate National Historic Site—was moved to the McNabb Arena and Community Centre, partly due to weather and partly to ensure safe access for participants. The day will conclude with a commemoration of the 1984 anti-Sikh pogroms.
Gosal criticized the Carney government’s recent moves to rebuild diplomatic ties with India as premature, citing what he describes as ongoing threats, intimidation, and targeted violence. “The extortions haven’t stopped, the shootings haven’t stopped,” he said. “If anything, they’ve gotten worse.”
His comments echo an extraordinary RCMP public statement issued in 2024 and still posted online, outlining allegations that Indian diplomats and agents operating in Canada engaged in clandestine intelligence activity, targeted members of the South Asian community, used proxies to collect information, and maintained links to organized crime groups. The statement connected those activities to homicides, intimidation, and interference in Canadian democratic processes.
Gosal says the threats persist to this day. “Nothing’s changed. If anything, it’s gotten worse,” he told CBC News.