Chill in ties, window closing for Canada invitation to G7 summit

With the G7 Summit just around the corner — scheduled from June 15 to 17 in Kananaskis, Alberta, and hosted by Canada — India has yet to receive an invitation. This delay has raised eyebrows, especially with the summit so close.

If the invitation doesn’t come through, it’ll mark the first time since 2019 that India will miss the G7 gathering. Aside from 2020, when the US called off the summit due to the pandemic, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has attended the event every year.

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The strained relationship between India and Canada is likely a factor in this diplomatic silence. Tensions spiked in 2023 when then-Canadian PM Justin Trudeau accused Indian agents of being involved in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Khalistan separatist in Canada. India dismissed the allegations, calling them baseless and politically driven, and both countries have since scaled back their diplomatic ties.

Tensions Rise as Canada’s G7 Invitation Window for India Nears Closure

G7 host nations typically extend invitations to a few guest countries or outreach partners. So far, Canada has invited Ukraine and Australia for this year’s summit but hasn’t announced any other guest nations yet. Back in August 2019, when France hosted the summit in Biarritz, India received its first invite under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership, who took office in 2014.

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Back in 2020, then-US President Donald Trump criticized the G7 as an “outdated group” and expressed interest in expanding it by including countries like India, Australia, South Korea, and Russia. He even floated the idea of renaming it “G10 or G11” and proposed holding the summit later that year. However, the plan didn’t materialize due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the US elections. Since then, PM Modi has joined the G7 summits virtually in 2021, and in person in Germany (2022), Japan (2023), and Italy (2024).

On May 25, Canada’s new Foreign Minister, Anita Anand, had a phone call with Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar — the first official political-level exchange since Mark Carney’s win in the Canadian elections. This sparked some optimism for improved relations. Anand mentioned Canada’s intent to strengthen ties with India and reduce its economic dependence on the US, even as investigations into Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s killing by the RCMP continue. Addressing the case, she emphasized Canada’s commitment to the rule of law and stated that the investigation is progressing step by step.

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