Monday, June 8, 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

Calls to remove video of Canadian Sikh woman's killing gather steam

Calls to remove video of Canadian Sikh woman's killing gather steam
Davinder Kaur, 43, was stabbed to death by her estranged husband Nav Nishan Singh in Sparrow Park, Brampton, on May 19. Emergency crews found the mother of four with "obvious signs of trauma", who died on the spot despite attempts by paramedics to save her life. 

Calls to remove video of Canadian Sikh woman's killing gather steam

Man accused of killing Indian student in Canada to stand trial

Man accused of killing Indian student in Canada to stand trial
Dante Ognibene-Hebbourn, 23, was apprehended under the Mental Health Act after the February 26, 2022, attack on 24-year-old Harmandeep Kaur at the University of British Columbia's Okanagan Campus. He is now expected to reappear in court on June 12 to fix a trial date. 

Man accused of killing Indian student in Canada to stand trial

Canadian accused of killing Indian-origin gangster extradited to Thailand

Canadian accused of killing Indian-origin gangster extradited to Thailand
Matthew Dupre, 38, who allegedly gunned down Jimi 'Slice' Sandhu in February 2022, arrived in Bangkok on a special air force flight on Sunday night. Sandhu, who grew up in Abbotsford, was connected to the United Nation Gang, which was founded in the Fraser Valley in 1997.

Canadian accused of killing Indian-origin gangster extradited to Thailand

BC Health Ministry invests in roads

BC Health Ministry invests in roads
Health Minister Adrian Dix says the road safety grant program is especially important in rural and Indigenous communities, and preventing road-related injuries will lessen pressure on the province's health-care system.   

BC Health Ministry invests in roads

Port Moody arson damages turf field

Port Moody arson damages turf field
Port Moody police say firefighters were called to the Trasolini Field just before midnight on May 26th after a group of young people was seen using an accelerant to light the field on fire before fleeing the scene.

Port Moody arson damages turf field

Vancouver fire lands man in hospital

Vancouver fire lands man in hospital
Vancouver firefighters say a man suffered life-threatening injuries in a fire that broke out early Monday morning on West Sixth Avenue. The fire service says a 34-year-old man was taken to V-G-H with serious and life-threatening injuries.

Vancouver fire lands man in hospital