Carney's Victory Set to Rebuild Bridges

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was quick to congratulate Liberal Party leader Mark Carney on his victory in Canada's elections on Tuesday and offer to strengthen the bilateral partnership, setting the stage for a reset of the relationship that hit an all-time low under the latter's predecessor Justin Trudeau.

- Reuters

With the US and its search for new markets and opportunities outside North America, augur well for a reset in India-Canada relations. Canada is also looking for political support in the context of Trump administration's policies.

The '51st state' threat Hours before Canada's election, US President Donald Trump repeated his threat to annex Canada and make it the 51st state of the US, a move denounced by Carney and opposition Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre, who was courted by the Indian side as it initially appeared he would sweep the polls. Poilievre lost his constituency while the Conservatives appeared set to win 144 seats in the 343-member House of Commons.

The Indian side is also drawing comfort from the electoral losses of New Democratic Party (NDP) chief Jagmeet Singh, a trenchant critic of the Indian government.

In the run-up to the elections, Carney signaled his willingness to reset the relationship with New Delhi. On Saturday, he described the relationship with India as "incredibly important".

Carney didn't directly address the festering matter of Nijjar's murder, but suggested differences that led to the cratering of ties can be resolved. "There are strains on that relationship that we didn't cause, to be clear, but there is a path forward to address those with mutual respect and to build out," he said.