Toronto, Mar 22: Days after Mark Carney replaced Justin Trudeau as Prime Minister of Canada, India, on Friday, recalled “the downturn in India-Canada relations”. New Delhi squarely blamed the “licence given to extremists” under Justin Trudeau for the strained ties, hoping to rebuild them after the change in Canada’s leadership.Justin Trudeau’s ouster was complete last week when Canada’s ruling Liberal Party replaced him with a new prime minister. An entirely new Cabinet was sworn in on March 14. Both Ottawa and New Delhi now hope to rebuild ties, which currently are at a historic low.
On a question regarding Canada at a weekly press briefing, India’s Ministry of External Affairs today said that “The downturn in India-Canada relations was caused by the license that was given to the extremist and secessionist elements in the country”, adding that “Our hope is that we can rebuild our ties based on mutual trust and sensitivity.”
Shortly before taking oath as Prime Minister, Mark Carney had also expressed his keenness to build on ties with “like-minded countries” and had called the chance to rebuild ties with India as an “opportunity” he would like to work on.