Wednesday, May 20, 2026
ADVT 
National

Sikh rally in Toronto with multi-party support prompts India diplomatic rebuke

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 29 Apr, 2024 04:08 PM
  • Sikh rally in Toronto with multi-party support prompts India diplomatic rebuke

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh at the Khalsa Day rally in Toronto on Sunday.

The rally commemorates the Sikh faith, and some participants chanted and carried banners emblazoned with slogans calling for a state separate from India, known as Khalistan.

India formally summoned Canada's deputy high commissioner Monday, and the country's foreign ministry decried what it called "disturbing actions being allowed to continue unchecked at the event."

India's foreign ministry didn't specify what it took issue with, but noted there were displays of separatism and alleged this illustrates Canada tolerating "extremism and violence."

New Delhi and Ottawa have been at odds over the issue for decades, and the relationship has been significantly strained since Trudeau accused India of playing a role in the slaying of a Canadian Sikh leader last year. 

Canada insists it will not infringe on free speech, including when Sikh people call for the existence of Khalistan. 

But India says these comments violate its constitution.

India has pointed out instances of people in Canada openly glorifying those linked to the 1985 bombing of an Air India plane, whose passengers were largely Canadian citizens. 

Human-rights groups says the country's Hindu nationalist government has increasingly persecuted minorities in recent years.

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly's office did not immediately comment on India's rebuke Monday. 

Joly has repeatedly said she wants to navigate the diplomatic rift with India in private. 

MORE National ARTICLES

RCMP confirm Indigenous teen missing in Williams Lake has been found safe

RCMP confirm Indigenous teen missing in Williams Lake has been found safe
RCMP Staff Sgt. Kris Clark says the 13-year-old is safe. He did not say where she was found. An earlier release from the Williams Lake detachment said she was not believed to have left the Cariboo city.

RCMP confirm Indigenous teen missing in Williams Lake has been found safe

Fire in Vancouver's Kerrisdale neighbourhood destroys or damages five businesses

Fire in Vancouver's Kerrisdale neighbourhood destroys or damages five businesses
Vancouver Fire and Rescue Chief Karen Fry says in a social media post that flames broke out before midnight Sunday prompting a three-alarm response to the large fire. The blaze involved five shops on 41st Avenue between Maple Street and East Boulevard, including two restaurants, a bakery, a yogurt shop and a vegetable market.  

Fire in Vancouver's Kerrisdale neighbourhood destroys or damages five businesses

Winter tires now required

Winter tires now required
B-C's winter driving regulations are now in effect. Winter tires or chains are required on most highway routes throughout the province from the start of October to the following spring.   

Winter tires now required

2 in hospital after Cloverdale collision

2 in hospital after Cloverdale collision
One man is in custody following a collision that sent two pedestrians to hospital yesterday afternoon. The pedestrians, a 24-year-old man and a 24-year old woman, were transported to hospital with serious injuries. A suspect was arrested in the area shortly after the collision.

2 in hospital after Cloverdale collision

Defence minister insists $1B spending reduction is not a budget cut

Defence minister insists $1B spending reduction is not a budget cut
The country's top soldier and outside experts say that finding almost $1 billion in savings in the Department of National Defence budget will affect the Armed Forces' capabilities, although the defence minister insisted Friday the budget is not being cut.

Defence minister insists $1B spending reduction is not a budget cut

European Union heads to visit Canada amid talks for access to EU science grants

European Union heads to visit Canada amid talks for access to EU science grants
The top heads of the European Union are expected to visit Canada this year, as officials discuss the possibility of Ottawa joining a major research-funding pact.  "We are expecting the summit still to take place this year," the EU's ambassador to Canada, Melita Gabric, said Friday.

European Union heads to visit Canada amid talks for access to EU science grants