Trudeau govt officials say they shared 'intel' against India with US media

Two senior officials in Ottawa have said they shared alleged 'intelligence' inputs on India with US media, well before the information was revealed at home. Canada's national security and intelligence advisor Nathalie Drouin and deputy minister of foreign affairs David Morrison reportedly disclosed the information to the Washington Post before the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) publicly accused India of involvement in the killing of pro-Khalistan activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, and other incidents in Canada.

During a parliamentary panel session, Drouin revealed that the information sharing, coordinated with Morrison, was part of a "communications strategy" to ensure that a major American outlet received Canada's perspective on the escalating diplomatic row with India, according to local media reports.

She clarified that the information, which was non-classified, was released before Canada's Thanksgiving on 14 October. Drouin claimed the strategy was shared with the prime minister's office but did not require authorisation from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Globe and Mail reported.

Drouin insisted that the leaked intelligence did not contain classified information and was aimed at sharing Canada's concerns about alleged illegal activities by Indian agents against Canadians, including threats to Canadian lives. The strategy included allegations linking Indian officials to the killing of another pro-Khalistan activist Sukhdool Singh Gill, who was shot in Winnipeg last year, after Trudeau accused Indian officials of being involved in the murder of Nijjar.

Tensions between the two countries surged after India expelled six Canadian diplomats on 14 October, following Ottawa's designation of India's high commissioner and other diplomats as "persons of interest" in the Nijjar murder probe.

The same day, top RCMP officials publicly levelled serious accusations against India.

New Delhi has been asserting that the Trudeau government has "consciously provided" space to "violent extremists and terrorists" to harass, threaten and intimidate Indian diplomats and community leaders in Canada. As it announced its decision to expel Canada's diplomats on 14 October, India had underlined that, in an atmosphere of extremism and violence, it had no faith in the current Canadian government's commitment to ensure the security of Indian officials in Canada.

On 13 October, national security advisor Ajit Doval allegedly met his Canadian counterpart in Singapore, where Canadian officials presented evidence of India's involvement with the Bishnoi gang to carry out attacks on Sikh separatists in Canada.

The parliamentary panel reportedly questioned Drouin and Morrison's decision to share sensitive information with the Washington Post rather than the Canadian public. Conservative public safety critic Raquel Dancho condemned the move as "unfair to the Canadian public", adding that details were given to the American media before Canadians were informed.

RCMP commissioner Mike Duheme supported Drouin's stance, affirming that the leaked information was unclassified and withheld from the public to avoid compromising ongoing investigations.

With agency inputs