How will Canada’s investigation into India affect geopolitics?

Experts say Canada’s investigation into India’s role in the killing of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey is the beginning of an ongoing story for which there is no Canadian parallel.

On Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced in the House of Commons that Canadian intelligence suggests India was behind the killing of B.C. Sikh leader in June. Following that revelation, the Canadian government expelled an Indian diplomat who was identified by Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly as the head of RAW — the Indian intelligence agency — in Canada.

“It’s truly unprecedented. I know we’re not supposed to use that word because it’s overused, but in this case, it’s apt,” said Leah West, an associate professor of international affairs at Carleton University in Ottawa.

“Not only the fact that you had a prime minister on the floor of the House of Commons make this kind of announcement about an extrajudicial killing within Canadian soil, but the fact that he revealed it for the first time — that’s how Canadians learned about it.”

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West tells CityNews that while there isn’t a Canadian precedent for the situation, she sees similarities to how the United States handled the murder of Jamal Khashoggi — a journalist for the Washington Post who was killed by agents of the Saudi government in 2018.

“It took a long time before we saw the full effect of state action against Saudi Arabia, and I think that would make sense again in this case,” she said.

Once the investigation into India was announced, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh said he’d like to see Canada use “every tool and every power of a democratic nation to bring those responsible to justice.”

Former national security analyst Stephanie Carvin says statements like that hold a lot of weight.

“It’s significant because it does put India in the club of countries like Iran, like Russia, like China,” she told CityNews.

However, West says diplomatic action from Canada against India will likely take a while to see.

“That won’t come until long after the investigation is probably wrapped up. So it’s something that will evolve over time,” she said.

Nijjar, 45, was shot to death in the parking lot of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey on June 18. Homicide investigators have identified three suspects and a vehicle believed to be involved in the killing.

With files from Monika Gul