Carney says he cannot guarantee India will no longer be involved in crimes in Canada

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi walks with Prime Minister Mark Carney before their meeting at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi on March 2, 2026. Photo by SAJJAD HUSSAIN /AFP via Getty Images

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OTTAWA — Despite increased diplomatic, trade and security ties with India, Prime Minister Mark Carney says that he cannot guarantee the Indian government will not be behind crimes committed in Canada.

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In an interview with the New York Times last week, the prime minister said there was “some evidence” that the renewed relationship he’s charting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has led to “progress” on improving the security of Canadians.

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But when asked if he could assure Canadians that the Indian government would no longer be linked to crimes such as arson, extortion, blackmail, harassment and even murder, he said no.

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Canada’s security apparatus has for years pegged India as one of the main perpetrators of foreign interference and espionage in Canada. Just a few years ago, then prime minister Justin Trudeau stood in the House of Commons and said Canada has intelligence that linked Indian government agents to the murder of Sikh-Canadian Hardeep Singh Nijjar in 2023.

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Then on Thanksgiving in 2024, RCMP top brass held an exceptional press conference to link the Indian government to a series of violent crimes in Canada such as murder, arson, extortion and threats.

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On Monday, the FBI announced it was offering US$1 million for any information leading to the arrest of Satinderjeet Singh, whom they suspect of being the North American leader of international crime syndicate Lawrence Bishnoi gang. He is also known by the name Goldie Brar.

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“Goldy Brar and his network have wreaked devastating havoc on countless lives—through high-profile murders, shootings, death threats, extortion, arson, and drug trafficking,” the RCMP’s Lisa Moreland said in the FBI statement.

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For some, Carney’s pronouncement to the New York Times was a recognition that Canada cannot claim to control the actions of a foreign government at all times, even on Canadian soil.

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But Amarnath Amarasingam, an academic who researches radicalization and transnational repression, said that Carney’s comments come off as “a little bit dismissive.”

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Various minority ethnic groups in Canada — such as Sikhs, Tibetans, Uyghurs, Taiwanese, Chinese and Iranian dissidents — have long complained that the government doesn’t do enough protect them from foreign threats, said Amarasingam, an assistant professor at Queen’s University.

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A comment like Carney’s reinforces the feeling that Ottawa views the threats against them as a foreign issue, not domestic, said Amarasingam, who is set to publish a book about transnational repression towards diaspora communities in Canada.