Justin Trudeau Khalistan Support, Justin Trudeau Khalistan Support Reason: India-Canada's relationship has hit rock bottom and it continues to worsen day by day ever since Canadian PM Justin Trudeau accused 'agents of New Delhi' of assassinating Hardeep Singh Nijjar. While Trudeau termed Nijjar as a Canadian citizen, he has been declared a terrorist in India. India has repeatedly rejected Justin Trudeau's allegation of its involvement in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. The allegations and counter-allegations worsened the two countries' relationship so much that both Canada and India suspended top diplomats from each other's countries. In the meanwhile, Canada has been accused of sheltering pro-Khalistan extremists and giving a safe haven to anti-India elements. In the meanwhile, Trudeau's soft stance to Pro Khalistan outfits in Canada has proved that his government is supporting Pro Khalistan elements. This can be understood by the fact that India has repeatedly asked to take strict actions against Pro Khalistan outfits and most wanted extremists in Canada but Trudeau administration has not taken any action.
Now, the question arises why did Canadian PM Justin Trudeau come out in support to Pro Khalistan elements?
Well, India has maintained that Trudeau's stance is politically motivated. As per Indian Express, Sikhs began migrating from India to Canada in the late 19th Century and now comprise around 2% of Canada’s population. As per Statistics Canada, the proportion of Canada’s Sikh population rose from 0.9% to 2.1% between 2001 and 2021. Ontario (300,435) had the largest Sikh community in Canada in 2021, followed closely by British Columbia (290,870). Just under one-third of the Sikhs living in Canada are based in the Toronto metropolitan region, while over one-quarter lived in Vancouver in 2021.
Despite the low percentage, Canadian journalists have highlighted the presence of Sikhs in large amounts in political rallies. To be precise, at least 100,00 sikhs often accumulate on Vaishakhi Day. Hence, Canadian political leaders try to woo them by remaining silent on the Khalistan issue or even extending their support to them to woo their votes.
Talking about Justin Trudeau has been facing the ire of Canadians over housing taxes, unemployment, and inflation. Hence, Canadian PM Trudeau has shifted his focus to the Khalistan issue in order to consolidate his voting percentage in the upcoming Canadian elections.
As per Express, in 2018, the Canadian government’s annual ‘Public Report on the Terrorist Threat to Canada’ mentioned the words “Sikh extremism” and “Khalistan” for the first time. However, a year later, Canada revised the report just a day before Vaisakhi, removing all mentions of Khalistan and Sikh extremism. This omission was criticised by then Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh, who had previously provided Trudeau with a list of extremists in Canada, including Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Justin Trudeau government has been in power since 2015 and the next general elections will be held in 2025. At the moment, Trudeau's Liberal Party is staring at falling electoral support in opinion polls. Hence, amid multiple issues pending and public anger over inflation, housing taxes, and unemployment, Justin Trudeau's pro-Khalistan stance may profit him in terms of vote share.