India-Canada Diplomatic Row Impact, India-Canada Diplomatic Standoff Impact on Indians: India-Canada's relationship has hit rock bottom after Justin Trudeau reignited his verbal attacks on New Delhi in Hardeep Nijjar's murder case. Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in their investigation termed six Indian diplomats in Canada including the High Commissioner as 'persons of interest' in Nijjar's Murder Case. Canada also accused agents of the Indian government of working with the notorious Lawrence Bishnoi gang and targeting pro-Khalistan elements in Canada. India's Ministry of External Affairs rejected all the claims and asked for proof. Not only this, India recalled its diplomats back from Canada and also expelled equivalent-level Canadian diplomats. Now, the question arises how India-Canada diplomatic standoff can impact Indians living in Canada including students and NRIs? Below is everything you need to know-
India-Canada diplomatic standoff impact
People of Indian Origin- These are people who gave up their Indian citizenship. So, they are Canadian citizens with roots in India. As per FirstPost, Canada is home to more than 1.8 million people of Indian Origin. They make up about 4 percent of Canada's population. Canada has beaten both UK and Australia in terms of hosting people of Indian Origins.
Then there are NRIs (Non-Resident Indians). People who are still Indian citizens but live in Canada mostly for work or study. There are more than a million NRIs in Canada which is more than in the UK and Australia.
Combined you have 2.8 million people who could be impacted by India-Canada row. How could they be affected?
1) Visas aka Travel issues
Last September 2024, India suspended Visa services for Canadian Nations, Canadian citizens cannot apply for Indian visas even from Indian diplomatic missions from third countries. This hit the Indian diaspora the hardest. People with Overseas Citizens of India or OCI card holders were not affected neither were those valid long-term visas. But, some people of Indian decent applied for visas last September and were denied visa services. They had to wait for a few months and try again.
Things were arguably worse for Indian students. Last year, Canada recalled its diplomats from India, they were away for a few months. So Visa issuance slowed to a crawl. Canada did not suspend visa services outright but because there were no diplomats at the embassy, it was almost a de facto suspension.
Between October & December 2023, student visas issued to Indians fell by 42 percent in Canada. Thousands of students were rejected as well meaning students ended up having to waste an entire semester. This was bad for both India and Canada.
A few days back, immigrationnewscanada.ca published a report confirming a massive increase in Canadian visa processing times for Indians. The processing time has been increased for various temporary residence visa categories, including visitor visas, super visas, study permits, and work permits. The Canadian portal further brokedown how visa processing time have been increased over time, especially during India-Canada diplomatic standoff that intensified in 2023 and is expected to deteriorate more in 2024.
Indian students were forced to wait but Canada also lost a lot of money.
Indian students make up the bulk of overseas students in Canada. They also pay international student fees. Meaning they contribute billions. In 2021, Indian students contributed almost 4.9 billion dollars to the Canadian Economy. So, fewer Indian students is bad for the Canadian economy.
How diplomatic row can impact the overall India-Canada relationship?
Indians in Canada, a large population are Sikh people almost 770,000 by an estimate. The rest of the diaspora comes from other regions of India. If Trudeau continues his Khalistan supportive stance, it is feared that attacks on other communities of India especially Hindus will rise. For instance, many incidents are available in the public domain when pro-Khalistan elements defaced Indian temples in Canada.