Ottawa, Canada: A new national survey released by the Sikh Federation Canada has given federal leaders a stark, united message: Sikh Canadians want accountability for foreign interference, stronger funding for Sikh-led anti-hate work, and a foreign policy that prioritizes human rights over trade.
According to the Sikh Federation Canada, 1,998 total responses were recorded from across the country:
- 58% from Western Canada
- 38% from the Prairies
- 29% from Eastern Canada
- 75% from other regions
The Sikh Federation Canada says this grassroots questionnaire represents a community mandate that will guide its advocacy to Parliamentarians and government.
The survey’s topline results present overwhelming majorities on core demands.
- 94% of respondents agree that the Government of Canada should establish an inquiry into India’s foreign interference in Canada.
- 91% Western Canada
- 60% The Prairies
- 90% Eastern Canada
- 94% agree that the Government of Canada should do more to fund Sikh-led initiatives to counter anti-Sikh hate.
- 92% agree that the Government of Canada should impose targeted sanctions on Indian government officials involved in violence in Canada.
- 97% Western Canada
- 95% The Prairies
- 85% Eastern Canada
- 94% agree that the Government of Canada should recognize the anti-Sikh violence of 1984 as a genocide.
- 93% agree that Canada’s foreign policy should prioritize human rights over trade partnerships.
The survey comes against the backdrop of a watershed moment in Canada–India relations. In September 2023, the Canadian government publicly accused agents of the Indian government of conducting a “campaign of violence” in Canada that included threats, intimidation, and violent acts — allegations that followed the killing of British Columbia–resident activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on June 18, 2023.
Then–Prime Minister Justin Trudeau disclosed in the House of Commons that Canadian authorities had credible intelligence linking Indian government actors to Nijjar’s killing.
The RCMP later identified a pattern of clandestine information gathering, coercive behaviour, and violent acts directed at members of the Sikh community. These disclosures prompted the expulsion of diplomats and a major diplomatic rupture between Ottawa and New Delhi.
In October 2024, the Canadian government escalated its response — expelling six additional Indian diplomats after uncovering what it described as “violent criminal activity linked to the Government of India” within Canada’s borders.
Sikh community organizations and human-rights groups have repeatedly pointed to these revelations as proof of a serious security problem: transnational repression that targets diaspora communities on Canadian soil.
Despite the 2023 accusations and the 2024 expulsions, Canada has more recently moved to restore and stabilize ties with India amid shifting global economic pressures.
Senior Canadian officials have engaged in talks to rebuild trade, investment, and co-operation at a time when Canada faces geopolitical and economic uncertainties, including U.S. tariff disputes that have pushed Ottawa to repair relationships with major partners.
Over the past year, Canadian ministers have signalled a desire to re-engage New Delhi on trade, technology, and energy — a strategy that, for many in the Sikh community, risks subordinating accountability to commercial priorities.
That diplomatic recalibration has provoked sharp debate: while some Canadian polling suggests segments of the public support restoring ties, community groups, civil-society organizations, and Sikh leaders have urged Ottawa not to sideline inquiries and protections for targeted communities. Responses from Sikh Canadian organizations, including the Sikh Federation Canada and World Sikh Organization of Canada warning that efforts to “reset” relations must not erase or excuse documented allegations of interference and violence.