Canada’s G7 snub, a diplomatic setback that India can’t ignore

FOR the first time since 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to skip the G7 Summit — this time due to the host country, Canada, not extending an invitation. With the summit scheduled from June 15 to 17 in Alberta, Ottawa’s conspicuous silence on India’s participation is a telling sign of the deep freeze in bilateral relations. The diplomatic estrangement between India and Canada has been worsening since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged the involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil. India has dismissed the claim as “absurd”, but relations have remained tense since then. Despite the ongoing attempts at backchannel diplomacy, New Delhi finds itself isolated from a forum it has regularly been invited to as a special guest since 2019.