How Canadian voters defeated Khalistan backer Jagmeet Singh

In what can be viewed as a major victory for India, Canadian voters have handed a crushing defeat to the pro-Khalistan New Democratic Party (NDP) and its chief Jagmeet Singh in parliamentary elections, in which Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberals scored a stunning comeback win.Singh conceded defeat in his Burnaby Central seat and resigned as the party leader. The NDP has lost its national status as it won just seven seats, down from 24 in the outgoing House, where Singh was once a ‘kingmaker’ propping up former PM Justin Trudeau’s minority government.In Canada, a political outfit needs at least 12 seats to officially qualify for national party status.The Liberals’ win was largely fuelled by a backlash against US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and comments on making Canada the 51st US state.Interestingly, the number of Punjabi-origin winners has increased to 22 (out of a total of 343 candidates) from the 20 elected in 2019 and 17 in 2021. Among them, 12 are Liberals and 10 are Conservatives.Sikhs account for a little over 2% of Canada’s total population.NDP’s rout raises hopes for a reset in Canada-India ties, which nosedived during Trudeau’s tenure over the June 2023 murder of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil.Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 29 congratulated Carney for his victory and said he was looking forward to working together to “unlock greater opportunities for our people”. Congratulations @MarkJCarney on your election as the Prime Minister of Canada and to the Liberal Party on their victory. India and Canada are bound by shared democratic values, a steadfast commitment to the rule of law, and vibrant people-to-people ties. I look forward to working…

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 29, 2025 The rise and fall of NDPFrom clinching a deal with the Liberal Party government under Trudeau in March 2022 to NDP headed by him losing national party status, Indian-Canadian Jagmeet Singh’s popularity saw a sharp decline in the past few years.Singh, whose parents hail from Thikriwal village in Punjab’s Barnala district, was appointed head of NDP on October 1, 2017.A lawyer and human rights advocate, Singh had won twice from Burnaby Central in 2019 and 2021. The 46-year-old Sikh emerged as a kingmaker when NDP supported the Liberals’ minority government in 2019 and 2021. In 2021, NDP won 25 seats with a 17.82% vote share. medium nocaptionhttp://youtu.be/g6sAsR-7Q9g?si=FjaAnil2Lm7nEmeLIn September 2024, NDP withdrew support to the Trudeau government over price rise, high unemployment rate among other issues. Singh then announced that he would be “running to be the next PM of Canada” when there was an election.Seven months later, Canadian voters totally rejected Singh and his NDP, accused of propagating anti-India narratives in Canada.“I’m disappointed we could not win more seats. But I’m not disappointed in our movement. I’m hopeful for our party... New Democrats built this country. We have built the best of Canada. And we aren’t going anywhere,” Singh wrote on X after his election defeat.When Jagmeet Singh was blacklisted by IndiaWay back in 2013, New Delhi blacklisted Singh for his anti-India activities and denied him a visa, which he had sought to visit Amritsar. The trigger for India’s action appeared to be Singh’s remarks, describing the 1984 anti-Sikh riots as a “state-sponsored genocide”.A known Khalistani sympathiser, Singh had pushed for action when Trudeau triggered a diplomatic row with India, alleging the latter’s involvement in Nijjar’s murder on Canadian soil.Indian officials had then said that allegations levelled by the Canadian authorities and politicians were incorrect and based on unsubstantiated assumptions. mediumhttp://youtu.be/gzRwwhzFeQg?si=wPXEf5qZBk2TS4z0They also claimed that Canada’s diplomatic standoff with India appeared to be motivated by failures on the domestic political front and declining popularity of the Trudeau government. They alleged that the expulsion of Indian diplomats seemed to be aimed at getting support of the Sikh population, especially those harbouring pro-Khalistan sentiments, news agency PTI reported in September 2023.The officials also pointed out that support for extremist elements and gangsters in Canada were deeply linked with the political realities that influence the vote bank in various Sikh-dominated constituencies.They flagged the role of Jagmeet Singh and his party NDP, which has been a vocal supporter of the Khalistan referendum (that seeks a separate homeland for Sikhs to be carved out of India), and fuels separatist sentiments amongst Canadian Sikhs.Separatist outfits with bases in CanadaPTI quoted Indian officials as saying that pro-Khalistani outfits such as the World Sikh Organization (WSO), Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF), Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) and Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), which had links with Pakistan, were allegedly operating freely form Canadian soil.They also claimed that despite multiple deportation requests, Ottawa had taken no action against those involved in heinous crimes, including the killing of popular Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala. medium120765877The issue of deportations of wanted terrorists and gangsters have been raised by Indian authorities at multiple diplomatic and security talks but the Canadian authorities remained non-committal and brazen in support of these terror elements, the officials said.Eight individuals involved in terror activities and as many gangsters, who have been conspiring with Pakistani spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), have found a safe haven in Canada, the officials said.How a banker took centre-stage in Canada’s politicsPM Mark Carney is a two-time central banker and a crisis fighter who now faces his biggest challenge of all: steering Canada through Trump’s tariffs.Carney, 60, had never held office, which would in normal times have undermined his candidacy in Canada. But a high-profile banking career played to his advantage, with the Liberal boss arguing he is the only person prepared to handle Trump.Usually speaking in a monotone, Carney ran a low-key five-week campaign and steered clear of major gaffes. His blend of tough talk and bland competence was a deliberate strategy, Liberal strategists said.“Unlike Pierre Poilievre [of the Conservative Party], I have managed budgets before. I have managed economies before. I have managed crises before. This is the time for experience, not experiments,” he told reporters last week.Carney was elected Liberal chief in March, replacing Trudeau. Carney was the first person to become Canadian PM without having experience as a legislator or cabinet member. He quickly axed an unpopular carbon tax on consumers and capital gains tax measures, then called the election, stressing the need to stand up to Trump. medium nocaptionhttp://youtu.be/NR5lclb1D8Y?si=vKcCe5bN_5W_sskJHe spent 13 years at US investment bank Goldman Sachs before being named deputy governor of the Bank of Canada in 2003. He left in November 2004 for a top job in Canada’s department of finance and returned to become governor of the central bank in 2008 at the age of just 42.Carney won praise for his handling of the 2008 financial crisis, when he created new emergency loan facilities and gave unusually explicit guidance on keeping rates at record-low levels for a specific period of time.Even at that stage, rumours swirled that he would seek a career in politics. “Why don’t I become a circus clown?” he told a reporter in 2012 when asked about possible political ambitions.The Bank of England was impressed enough though to poach him in 2013, making him the first non-British governor in the central bank’s three-century history, and the first person to head two G7 central banks. Carney, though, had a challenging time. He was forced to face zero inflation and the political chaos of Brexit.From 2011 to 2018, Carney also headed the Financial Stability Board, which coordinates financial regulation for the G20 economies. After leaving the Bank of England in 2020, Carney served as a UN envoy on finance and climate change.He resigned and left all commercial posts after he launched his bid for Liberal leadership. “If it’s not a crisis, you wouldn’t be seeing me. I’m most useful in a crisis. I’m not that good in peacetime,” Carney told supporters in February.With inputs from Neel Kamal/TOI and agencies