Timeline: What led to India, Canada expelling top diplomats?

Canada expels Indian diplomats over Sikh leader's murder, sparking diplomatic tensions with India, amid broader espionage allegations.

Canada has expelled six Indian diplomats and consular officials in relation to an investigation of the murder of a Sikh separatist leader in British Columbia last year, the Foreign Ministry said on Monday (October 14, 2024).

India earlier said it had ordered the expulsion of six top Canadian diplomats, including the acting High Commissioner, and said it had withdrawn its envoy from Canada, contradicting Canada's statement that it had expelled the envoy.

Relations between the two countries have been fraught since last year, when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he had evidence linking Indian agents to the assassination of a Sikh separatist leader in his country.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said they had significant information on broad criminal activity orchestrated by agents of the government of India and used to target members of the South Asian community in Canada.

Here’s a timeline of the events have transpired:

June 18, 2023: Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 45, is shot dead outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, a Vancouver suburb with a large Sikh population. He was a Canadian citizen campaigning for the creation of an independent Sikh homeland carved out of India.

September 1, 2023: A Canadian trade official says Canada paused talks on a proposed trade treaty with India, an unexpected move that came about three months after both countries said they planned to seal an initial pact in 2023.