SOURCE: AFI
Canada has recently made a significant acknowledgment regarding allegations of Indian interference in past elections won by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Following an official probe into foreign meddling in elections, unsubstantiated claims of Indian involvement have been refuted. The investigation, however, highlighted instances of Chinese influence in both the 2017 and 2021 elections.
A polling official involved in the investigation panel stated, “I do not believe that during the 2021 election, we saw evidence of the Government of India using those tools in the campaign.” This statement contradicts previous accusations made by Ottawa, which had initiated an inquiry into alleged Indian meddling amidst strained relations between the two nations. The tensions escalated following Trudeau’s accusations against the Indian government regarding the involvement in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Trudeau’s Liberal Party initially secured a significant majority in the 338-member parliament in 2015. However, in subsequent elections in 2019 and 2021, Trudeau, now 52 years old, only managed to form a minority government with support from alliance partners, failing to secure an outright majority. The involvement of pro-Khalistani organizations operating from Canada prompted calls for an investigation into whether India played a role in the recent Canadian elections.