Canada terms India a 'Foreign Threat' in elections

Canada has designated India as a 'foreign threat' that might potentially influence their elections, months after alleging Delhi's involvement in the killing of a Khalistani terrorist on their soil. The Indian government has yet to reply to the new allegations.

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service made the claim in a declassified intelligence report obtained by Global News.

This is the latest in a string of claims and counter-allegations that began last year, with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claiming Indian involvement in the death of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, which India rejected, the New Indian Express reported.

The October 2022 report titled 'Foreign Interference and Elections: A National Security Assessment' identified India as a 'threat' and warned that foreign intervention was undermining Canada's democracy, NDTV reported.

Foreign interference differs from regular diplomacy in that it employs secrecy and deception to influence public narratives and policy-making. Global News described the findings as saying.

This is the first time Canada has accused India of election tampering, an allegation that China and Russia have previously faced. In a 'Briefing to the Minister of Democratic Institutions on Foreign Interference' issued in February of last year, China was described as "by far the most significant threat."

"We know that the PRC sought to clandestinely and deceptively influence the 2019 and 2021 federal elections," it quoted the report, referring to the People's Republic of China.

The parts of a document made public do not name any countries, but additional sources name India and China as top threats according to media reports. It stated that foreign interference affects Canada and Canadians "by eroding sovereignty, democratic processes, and values."

"FI (foreign interference) activities incrementally weaken the fabric of Canadian democracy, subtly diminish the hard-won social cohesion of a multicultural society, and impinge on the Charter rights of Canadians," it said.

The Canadian Prime Minister asked for an investigation into the allegations.

Tensions have been building between India and Canada since Prime Minister Narendra Modi chastised Justin Trudeau for escalating secessionist activities in his country at a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G20 conference in Delhi last year.

A week later, Trudeau made the explosive claim that "Indian government agents" may have been behind the June shooting of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen and wanted terrorist in India, outside a gurdwara in Surrey. India dismissed the accusation as "absurd".