Prime Minister Modi’s arrival in Alberta—his first visit to Canada in nearly a decade—coincided with the G7 summit held in the pristine setting of Kananaskis, nestled in the Canadian Rockies. While a rattled group of Khalistani protesters tried to make noise, they ultimately failed to overshadow the real story: a significant diplomatic shift between New Delhi and Ottawa.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s warm reception of Modi was more than ceremonial. It was a signal that Canada is turning a page. Notably, Carney acknowledged “transnational repression," a term often used in Canadian parlance around the Hardeep Singh Nijjar killing. But crucially, he also mentioned “terrorism" in the same breath, recognising India’s consistent concerns about Khalistani extremists operating out of Canada.

While answering a question about the Nijjar case, Carney treaded cautiously, saying that a judicial process was underway and he needed to be careful of making further comments. This marks a dramatic shift from the Trudeau era, where extreme and theatrical rhetoric was deployed for narrow publicity and political gains.

A major sign of progress was the agreement between the two leaders to “designate new high commissioners with a view to returning to regular services to cities and businesses in both countries." This is a restoration of diplomatic ties that had been downgraded during Trudeau’s spat with India, when embassies in Ottawa and New Delhi had slashed staff in escalated tit-for-tat measures.

In fact, ahead of the meeting, the two countries made a pact on intelligence sharing on terrorism and crime, directly addressing India’s concerns. Under this, the law enforcement agencies on both sides would cooperate with each other. For Canada, this can be sold as cooperation in the Nijjar case, but for India, this means cooperation on countless terror and crime cases involving Khalistanis and other criminals—not to mention a road to their extradition.This moment marks the success of Modi’s steady, firm and patient diplomacy. India has remained consistent in its stance on terrorism, extremism, and criminal syndicates, and never wavered even when faced with Trudeau’s political theatrics and international mudslinging. Modi’s maturity and firmness have paid off. He refused to dignify Trudeau’s provocations, and instead let facts and India’s red-lines speak for themselves.

Modi’s last visit to Canada was in 2015, when Stephen Harper was Prime Minister. Harper had recognised the threat posed by Khalistani terrorism and chose to push trade and strategic cooperation with India.........

© News18