Canada has sought to defuse tensions with India after a diplomatic furore, calling on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government not to further expel Canadian diplomats.
"We don't want this to escalate," Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters on Tuesday. Relations between the two countries were strained last month after Canada alleged that India was involved in the killing of a Sikh separatist leader on Canadian soil, a charge that the Indian government called absurd.
"During this extremely difficult time, we will do important work to continue our constructive relationship with India," Trudeau said. "That's why it's so important for us to have diplomats on the ground working with the Indian government," he added.
In June, 45-year-old Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot multiple times in the parking lot of a temple in Surrey, British Columbia, as he sat in his gray pickup. Nijjar, who was in charge of the temple, died at the scene. Police said they were searching for three suspects.
In the wake of the bombshell allegations, Canada expelled an Indian diplomat, believed to be Pavan Kumar Rai, the local station chief for India's foreign spy agency, the Research and Analysis Wing. The next day, India expelled a Canadian diplomat. Neither the Indian nor Canadian governments have identified the expelled diplomat, but the Indian news media identified him as the head of Canada's local intelligence station.
On September 21, India's foreign ministry said it planned to expel more Canadian diplomats from India in response to what it sees as foreign interference in Indian affairs.
"We have informed the Canadian government that there should be parity in strength and rank in our diplomatic presence and in mutual diplomatic presence," Indian officials said at the time.
The Financial Times reported on Tuesday that Modi's government had asked 41 Canadian diplomats to leave by October 10. Neither Trudeau nor Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly confirmed that India had made specific demands and set a deadline. India's foreign ministry declined to comment on Tuesday.
The Indian High Commission in Canada also did not comment on the number of diplomatic staff. A representative for Canada's foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment on its diplomats in India.
"There are tensions between our two governments, so it is more important than ever for diplomats to stay on the ground and work, which is why we believe it is necessary to have a strong diplomatic team in India," Jolly said Tuesday. She also said she was in talks with her Indian counterparts.
India has also suspended visa issuance for Canadian citizens. Canada suspended talks on a free trade agreement with India before making public accusations against it.
The Indian government designated Nijjar as a terrorist in 2020, accusing him of involvement in financing and organizing militant activities in India.
For years, India and Canada have taken Sikh separatism very seriously and made efforts to address it, but the relationship between the two countries has been frayed. Canada has the largest Sikh population outside of India.