Canadian Spy Agency CSIS Says India Interfered in Elections

Documents from Canada's spy agency Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), made public at the inquiry looking into foreign interference in Canadian elections, said India and Pakistan were involved in attempts to influence the 2019 and 2021 votes. Canadian PM Justin Trudeau's Liberal Party won both the elections. The documents accused India of interference in 2021, when it had ‘likely conducted clandestine activities,’ including the use of an Indian govt. proxy agent in Canada. India's External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal refuted the allegations, ‘We strongly reject all such baseless allegations of Indian interference in Canadian elections. It is not Government of India's policy to interfere in democratic processes of other countries. In fact, on the reverse, it is Canada which has been interfering in our internal affairs.’ According to Indian media, the investigation into the allegations of foreign meddling in Canada elections has concluded that India did not interfere in Canadian politics, but Canadian press has not reported this. Canada is ranked 15 in the World Press Freedom Index, while India is ranked 161/180. In his testimony, Trudeau again brought up the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar and claimed that his govt. stood up for Canadians. Trudeau accused the previous Conservative government of being ‘cozy’ with the current Indian govt. The irony is how Indian PM Modi says, ‘we will enter homes and kill’ and Trudeau says, ‘we will defend Canadian citizens.’ Both prioritize competitive nationalism over human rights. Meanwhile, after October 2023, Canada has once again reduced the number of Indian staff members in its diplomatic missions across India. This will severely impact the visas Indian citizens seek to visit Canada (SDW Vol. Vol. 2 Issue 14, Updates).