Saturday, May 23, 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

Liberals could ask Bank of Canada to stop hiking interest rates: NDP

Liberals could ask Bank of Canada to stop hiking interest rates: NDP
The New Democrats say the federal government should follow the lead of British Columbia's premier and ask the Bank of Canada to stop raising interest rates. Premier David Eby wrote to Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem last week and asked him not to hike rates again as Canadians struggle to pay for food and rent.

Liberals could ask Bank of Canada to stop hiking interest rates: NDP

Children's Ministry refuses to compensate youth it misinformed: B.C. Ombudsperson

Children's Ministry refuses to compensate youth it misinformed: B.C. Ombudsperson
British Columbia's government is refusing to pay a young woman for its own mistakes and the provincial ombudsperson says she may not be the only one harmed. Jay Chalke says the Ministry of Children and Family Development gave the woman incorrect information, leading her to believe she was eligible for government support for post-secondary education worth tens of thousands of dollars. 

Children's Ministry refuses to compensate youth it misinformed: B.C. Ombudsperson

Feds award $15 million contract to Sun Life to lay groundwork for dental care program

Feds award $15 million contract to Sun Life to lay groundwork for dental care program
The federal government has awarded a contract worth up to $15 million to lay the groundwork for a new national dental insurance plan. The new plan, which was a key demand from the NDP as part of the its supply and confidence agreement with the governing Liberals, will replace the interim dental benefit for kids rolled out last year.

Feds award $15 million contract to Sun Life to lay groundwork for dental care program

Rental of B.C. school for Sikh referendum vote is cancelled by district

Rental of B.C. school for Sikh referendum vote is cancelled by district
The Surrey School District says in a statement that it cancelled the rental of Tamanawis Secondary School for the Sept. 10 referendum because promotional posters featured a picture of the school alongside what it called "images of a weapon."  

Rental of B.C. school for Sikh referendum vote is cancelled by district

B.C. residents tour wildfire razing in area that has 'changed dramatically:' district

B.C. residents tour wildfire razing in area that has 'changed dramatically:' district
Some residents of one of the regions most devastated by wildfires in British Columbia will be touring the burned-out site today. The Columbia Shuswap Regional District says in a statement that "some areas of the community have changed dramatically" after the Bush Creek East wildfire swept through, destroying or damaging as many as 200 homes.

B.C. residents tour wildfire razing in area that has 'changed dramatically:' district

ASEAN eyes Canada as anchor of peace in Indo-Pacific region

ASEAN eyes Canada as anchor of peace in Indo-Pacific region
The partnership with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations is considered a symbolic gesture that reflects Canada's expanded presence in the Indo-Pacific region. Trudeau, in a speech to ASEAN leaders Wednesday, said it shows the progress being made on a free-trade agreement between Canada and the 10-nation bloc.

ASEAN eyes Canada as anchor of peace in Indo-Pacific region