Canada and India expel each other’s diplomats in escalating dispute over an assassination

By Aijaz Hussain, Sheik Saaliq and Robert Gillies

Canada and India each expelled six diplomats Monday in tit-for-tat moves as part of an escalating dispute over the June 2023 assassination of a Sikh activist in Canada.

A senior Canadian government official said that Canada was expelling six Indian diplomats, including the high commissioner, after police uncovered evidence of ongoing violent criminal activity linked to the Indian government.

Shortly afterward, the Indian foreign ministry said it was expelling six Canadian diplomats. It had said earlier Monday that India was withdrawing its diplomats, after rejecting Canada’s notification that the Indian ambassador was a “person of interest” in the assassination.

A second senior Canadian official said that Canada expelled the Indian diplomats first before they withdrew. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said last year that there were credible allegations that the Indian