Majority of Canadians support Ottawa’s decision to reset ties with New Delhi: Poll
The ongoing tariff impasse with the US administration of President Donald Trump is also causing Canadians to rethink the trade relationship with India
Toronto: Canada’s decision to set the relationship with India, as evidenced by Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand’s ongoing bilateral visit to the country, is supported by over half of Canadians sampled in a new survey.
The survey conducted by the non-profit Angus Reid Institute (ARI) in partnership with the Asia-Pacific Foundation of Canada noted that “Canadians believe – by a two-to-one margin (51% to 22%) – it was the “right move” rather than the wrong one to restore ties with India”.
The ongoing tariff impasse with the US administration of President Donald Trump is also causing Canadians to rethink the trade relationship with India. ARI stated that “Canadians’ priorities in the relationship between Canada and India have shifted in the wake of the economic upheaval” as in choosing factors important in the relationship “Canadians are split evenly between saying the rule of law (52%) and trade opportunities (48%)”. Last year, as many as 62% of respondents chose rule of law as against just 38% backing trade.
But even with this “openness to reconnection”, the majority of those sampled, 54%, hold an unfavourable view of India and 59% believe Canada should be cautious in its approach towards ties. Since October 2024, the unfavourability percentage has dropped from 60% to 54%, while favourability has inched up three points to 29%.
However, Canadians remind largely ignorant about India with just 32% saying they have some knowledge of the world’s most populous country.
Vina Nadjibulla, vice-president, research and strategy at the Asia-Pacific Foundation of Canada, described the support for renewal of ties as “good news”. But pointing to the unfavourability percentage said the “gap in public opinion” was a matter to be mindful of.
She said there was “not a lot of knowledge about what opportunities exist’ in India for Canada, particularly as it attempts to diversify from its dependence on America. While there is momentum at the level of the two governments, she said a “lot more public diplomacy and outreach” was required to undo the current narrative.
That is driven by events of the last two years, starting with then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s statement in the House of Commons on September 18, 2023, that there were “credible allegations” of a potential link between Indian agents and the killing of pro-Khalistan figure Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, British Columbia three months earlier. India described those accusations as “absurd” and “motivated”.
Relations worsened last year in October as India withdrew six officials and diplomats from Canada after Ottawa asked New Delhi to waive their immunity so they could be questioned in connection with violent criminal activity in the country. In retaliation, India expelled six Canadian diplomats.
The reset came into place once Mark Carney replaced Trudeau as Canada’s PM. He held a breakthrough meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the margins of the G7 leaders’ summit in Kananaskis in June this year. Among the outcomes of that meeting was that High Commissioners from both countries returning to the two capitals. The step-by-step approach adopted by Canada has also led to Anand’s maiden trip to India, during which she not only met Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, as originally expected, but also Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
