Trudeau’s advisers shared sensitive intelligence about India with US newspaper: Report

Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's national security adviser, Nathalie Drouin, and David Morrison, the deputy minister of foreign affairs, are under scrutiny for reportedly sharing sensitive intelligence regarding India with The Washington Post. This occurred just days before the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) alleged connections between Indian government agents and criminal activities in Canada.

According to The Globe and Mail, which cited two sources familiar with the matter, Drouin and Morrison briefed the US newspaper about India's alleged interference operations in Canada during the week preceding Thanksgiving. Notably, this intelligence was not scheduled for public release until RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme's planned news conference on Thanksgiving Day, the Canadian newspaper report stated.

On the same day as the briefing, The Post reported, based on information from Canadian officials, that the government of Ottawa had linked India to the murder of Sukhdool Singh Gill, who was shot in Winnipeg on September 20, 2023. This murder occurred just two days after Trudeau accused India of being behind the killing of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, British Columbia.

Commissioner Duheme did not confirm any connections between Gill's murder and India, nor did the RCMP provide additional sensitive information referenced in The Post's report.

Dan Stanton, a former senior executive at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), commented that details surrounding Gill's murder would typically be classified, particularly regarding intelligence links to India, as such information was not available to the public prior to the Post report, The Globe and Mail stated. “If it is evidence or intelligence it would certainly be classified. If it doesn’t exist in open source and The Washington Post is quoting Canadian government officials then it sounds like something that would have been classified unless there is some special regime where they can release stuff to certain designated persons," Stanton was quoted as saying.

Relations between India and Canada reached a critical low after Canada associated High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma and several other Indian diplomats with the case.

In response to the accusations, New Delhi announced on Monday the recall of High Commissioner Verma and five other diplomats from Ottawa, while also expelling six Canadian diplomats from India.

Canada retaliated by expelling the Indian envoy and five additional diplomats.

Canadian authorities have accused Indian agents of engaging in homicides, extortion, and violent acts against pro-Khalistan supporters, a claim that India has strongly dismissed.