Justin Trudeau-led Canadian government has reduced the number of local staff at its missions across India, slightly over five months after Ottawa withdrew 41, or more than two-thirds, of its diplomats in October last year.
Canada has cited shortage of Canadian supervisory personnel required for the effective management of operations in India as the reason for reduction of diplomatic personnel in High Commission in New Delhi and the three consulates in Mumbai, Chandigarh and Bengaluru.
“I can confirm that the Government of Canada has implemented some staff reductions across our network of missions in India. The decision to implement reductions across our network of missions in India was sadly necessary given the reduction of Canadian staff available to effectively manage and maintain in-country operations,” an official from the Canadian High Commission said.
A media relations official at the high commission also said the decision was taken in the aftermath of the withdrawal of the Canadian diplomats in October 2023.
Last October, Canada withdrew 41 diplomats from India after New Delhi demanded “parity” over diplomatic representation as it lashed out at allegations by the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that Indian agents had been behind the killing of Khalistani terrorist and a Canadian national, Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
The High Commission official said, “Canada will continue to deliver core services to Canadians in India, including consular support and for trade and business development – so that the citizens of our two countries can continue to benefit from the longstanding ties between Canadians and Indians.”
“We can also confirm that Canada’s visa application centers in India are operating as normal,” the official added.
“We wish to express our sincere gratitude for the resilience, dedication and service of our local staff in India,” the official said.
