Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau introduced his resignation as Liberal Party chief on Monday, forward of a essential nationwide caucus assembly scheduled for Wednesday. The long-awaited determination, which was anticipated for weeks, is fuelled not solely by political threats but in addition by a current severance of relations with the Khalistani allies who used to assist the Prime Minister and who just lately declared a no-confidence vote in December.
Currently, Canada is making ready for an election this yr, and the Liberal Party faces a possible defeat towards Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative Party. According to polls, the Liberals are in a really harmful place by way of vote loss.
Relations with the United States have change into strained over time as most just lately, President-elect Donald Trump as soon as beneficial Canada be a part of the union and change into the 51st state with Trudeau as its governor. Other allies additionally profiled as adversaries embody India, the place relations have deteriorated sharply, for example, following Trudeau’s allegations that New Delhi was concerned within the homicide of anti-Khalistani militant Hardeep Singh Nijjar – an accusation the Indian authorities dismissed as unfounded.
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Trudeau’s ties with Sikh diaspora and Khalistani leaders underneath scrutiny
Notably, During Diwali celebrations at Ottawa’s Parliament Hill, Trudeau overtly acknowledged the Khalistan motion’s presence in Canada. “There are many supporters of ‘Khalistan’ in Canada, however they don’t symbolize the Sikh group as an entire. There are supporters of the Modi authorities in Canada, however they don’t symbolize all Hindu Canadians as an entire,” he stated.
The Sikh group, which varieties greater than 2% of Canada’s inhabitants and numbered roughly 800,000 in 2022, performs a big function in shaping political outcomes, significantly in areas like Greater Toronto and Vancouver. Trudeau’s authorities maintained shut ties with sections of Canada’s Sikh diaspora, together with distinguished pro-Khalistani leaders like Jagmeet Singh of the New Democratic Party (NDP).
However, Khalistani leaders have criticized Trudeau for not advocating their trigger strongly sufficient on worldwide platforms. “Justin Trudeau failed within the largest job a Prime Minister has: to work for folks, not the highly effective. The NDP will vote to deliver this authorities down and provides Canadians an opportunity to vote for a authorities that can work for them,” Singh wrote in an open letter.
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Earlier, a former Sikh cupboard minister within the Canadian authorities, Ujjal Dosanjh, referred to as the ex-Canada prez an “fool”, and stated he’s the one who “emboldened the Khalistani extremists and created worry amongst Sikhs in Canada with a average outlook.”