India Canada News Updates: Tensions between India and Canada are at a peak after Justin Trudeau's comments on the Niger massacre. Trudeau alleged that India was involved in the Nijjar massacre, which India categorically denied. Let us know why Sikhs are so influential in Canada that the Prime Minister of Canada is bent on spoiling relations with India over the killing of a terrorist. Diplomatic tensions between the two countries are at a peak due to the allegations brought by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Apart from this, India has suspended Indian visa services for Canadian citizens till further orders. India also asked the Trudeau government to reduce the number of Canadian diplomats in New Delhi. In such a situation, let us know why Sikhs have so much influence in Canada, Canada's PM Trudeau is bent on spoiling relations with India because of a terrorist.

This is not the first time that the two countries have come face to face with each other over the Khalistan terrorist. Even before this, Canada has defended the Khalistanis many times. In 1982, Justin Trudeau's father and the then Prime Minister of Canada, Pierre Trudeau, rejected the extradition request of Khalistan terrorist Talwinder Singh Parmar made by the then Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi.

Population of Sikhs in Canada

According to the 2021 census, the total population of Canada is 3.7 million. About 1.6 million Canadians, or 4 percent of the total population, are of Indian origin. Also, about 7 lakh 70 thousand are only Sikhs. Notably, the Sikh population in Canada has doubled in the last 20 years. Most of these Sikhs migrated from Punjab, aiming for higher education or employment.

How dominant are Sikhs in Canada?

The Sikh population in Canada is growing rapidly. Sikhism is the fourth largest religious community in Canada after Christians, Muslims and Hindus. Besides, Punjabi is the third most popular language in Canada after English and French. The largest number of Sikhs in Canada live in Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta. Sikhs have made significant contributions to Canada's construction, transportation and banking sectors.

Apart from this, about 4.15 lakh Sikhs have houses to live in. While till 1980 only 35 thousand Sikhs had a permanent home to live in Canada. At the same time, about 1.19 lakh Sikhs live in Canada without a permanent home. When Justin Trudeau first became Prime Minister in 2015, he selected four ministers from the Sikh community in his cabinet. Which was the highest representation of the Sikh community at the central level till now.

Why more dominance of Sikhs in Canada?

According to political experts, one of the main reasons for the dominance of the Sikh community in Canada is their strong networking through Gurdwaras. They collect money under grants in the form of Sikh Fund. A major part of this fund is spent on election campaigns. Currently, out of 388 MPs in Canada, 18 are Sikhs. Out of these 8 seats are completely dominated by Sikhs. Apart from this, Sikhs have an important role in 15 other seats. This is the reason why no political party wants to offend this community.

Experts believe that their dependence on the Sikh vote is encouraging the Khalistanis instead of taking any action despite India repeatedly raising the issue. In 2018, a Canadian intelligence report listed the Khalistanis as the country's top five terrorists. But Sikh community leaders in the Trudeau government reacted so severely that the government later dropped charges against them of Khalistani terrorism. From which the political influence of Sikhs in Canada can be estimated.

Khalistan supporters allied to the Trudeau government

Khalistani supporter and New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jagmeet Singh's party is also a coalition partner of the Tudo government. This is also one of the reasons why Justin Trudeau is not risking action against the Khalistanis. Jagmeet Singh was born in 1979 in a Punjabi family in the province of Ontario, Canada. When Trudeau's party failed to win majority in 2019, Jagmeet Singh became the kingmaker.

More Sikh MPs than India despite smaller population and fewer seats

According to the 2021 Canadian census, there are about 770 thousand Sikhs in Canada. There are 18 Sikh MPs in Canada's 338-seat House of Commons. Whereas in India, only 13 MPs are Sikhs in the 543-seat Faharavati Lok Sabha. According to the 2011 census, there are more than 2 crore Sikhs living in India. Which is 1.7 percent of the total population of the country. Out of which 1.6 crore Sikhs live in Punjab. Sikhs constitute about 58 percent of the total population of Punjab.

Who was Hardeep Nijjar?

The Indian government declared Nijjar as a terrorist in 2020. It was also said by the government that there was ample evidence of his involvement in promoting anti-national activities. He was also trying to create discord among the various communities of India. In June 2023, Nijjar was shot dead in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.

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