Canada’s oppn leader lambasts Trudeau for spewing 'conspiracy theories' against India

As tensions between India-Canada escalate amid Nijjar row, Canada’s opposition leader Andrew Scheer lambasted Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for spewing “conspiracy theories” against India without evidence. In a recent parliamentary session at the Canadian House of Commons, the opposition leader emphasised how Trudeau managed to sour the ties between Canada and India, the largest democracy in the world. Scheer urged Trudeau to provide solid evidence before he makes such “Bizarre” claims.

Earlier this month, the Canadian premier unleashed a scathing attack against the Indian government by alleging that the "Indian agents" were involved in the assassination of pro-Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Meanwhile, India vehemently denied the accusations calling Trudeau’s claims “absurd”. This led to the two nations expelling their senior diplomats and imposing multiple restrictions on Canada-India ties. 

“Baseless and unacceptable, that’s how the Indian government described the Prime Minister’s bizarre theory that the death of a convicted terrorist is somehow the fault of agents working on behalf of the Indian government,” Scheer said as he tartgetted Trudeau on the floors of the House of Commons. The opposition leader insisted that Trudeau’s ‘incompetence’ has severely damaged Canada’s relations with the world’s largest democracy and an emerging power in Asia. “Will the PM finally do the right thing and produce some kind of proof of his conspiracy theory,” he asked Trudeau. 

News: 🇨🇦 In the Canadian Parliament, Opposition Leader Scheer takes aim at @JustinTrudeau over the diplomatic row with India:

"Do you have any evidence for your conspiracy theories? The Prime Minister's incompetence has damaged Canada's relations with a key Asian power and the… pic.twitter.com/HcVraFBrUY

— Norbert Elikes (@NorbertElikes)

Conservatives taking a cautious stance on the issue

Amid the ongoing turmoil in Canada, many observers believe that conservative opposition leaders are taking a cautious stance on the issue. While the relationship between India and Canada is complex, the conservatives do not want to lose ties with the fifth-largest economy in the world. "There's a lot of landmines here," Shakir Chambers, a former Conservative Party staffer told Canadian news outlet CBC News.

Earlier this week, the Canadian Leader of the Opposition Pierre Poilievre noted that Trudeau’s remarks have triggered hate comments against Hindus living in Canada. “Every Canadian deserves to live without fear and feel welcomed in their community,”  Poilievre wrote on X. “In recent days, we have seen hateful comments targeting Hindus in Canada. Conservatives condemn these comments against our Hindu neighbours and friends. Hindus have made invaluable contributions to every part of our country and will always be welcome here,” he added. 

Every Canadian deserves to live without fear and feel welcomed in their community.

In recent days, we have seen hateful comments targeting Hindus in Canada. Conservatives condemn these comments against our Hindu neighbours and friends. Hindus have made invaluable contributions…

— Pierre Poilievre (@PierrePoilievre)

Meanwhile, Canadian Defence Minister Bill Blair attempted to dodge the pertinent question of whether the ongoing tussle will impact security corporations in the Indo-Pacific region. “We understand that this can be, and has proven to be, a challenging issue with respect to our relationship with India,” Blair said in an interview on a show called “The West Block” on Sunday. He insisted that the  Indo-Pacific strategy is still critical to Canada. According to Global News, the strategy commits $492.9 million over five years toward those military priorities in the Indo-Pacific region.