Mint Primer: What Trudeau’s resignation means for India-Canada relations
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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Justin Trudeau announced his resignation as the prime minister of Canada and leader of the Liberal Party on Monday. What next for Canada? And will the development bring a decisive shift in India-Canada relations? Mint explains: With Canada’s Parliament prorogued until March, the opposition’s effort to bring a no-confidence motion stands stalled.
Trudeau’s Liberal Party, in all likelihood, would like to elect a new leader before March, but the process can take longer. Any incumbent leader will have a tough call as the government needs the backing of 338 members of Parliament in a no-confidence vote. The Liberals are 17 members short.
The Left-leaning New Democratic Party (NDP) has declined to offer support. If the government loses the confidence motion, it is expected to resign or seek the dissolution of Parliament, triggering a federal election. India-Canada relations hit rock bottom last year over the killing of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia.
Canada claimed that it had credible evidence that Indian agents were behind the killing of Nijjar, a Canadian citizen. India vehemently denied the charge, calling it ‘motivated ‘ and ‘preposterous’. While Trudeau put India-Canada relations on a diplomatic hot plate, the move also indicated his last-ditch and desperate attempt, amid declining popularity, to pander to the Sikh diaspora in the country, many of whom have been supporters of the Liberal Party.
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