How Canada’s G7 invite to Modi shows India is too big to ignore – Firstpost

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi steps onto Canadian soil to attend the G7 Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, later this month, it will be much more than a high-profile diplomatic engagement. It will be a powerful statement of India’s growing centrality in world affairs, despite, or perhaps because of, the recent diplomatic freeze with the host nation.

PM Modi’s invitation to the summit, extended by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, comes despite a serious rupture in bilateral relations during the tenure of former Canadian PM Justin Trudeau. What makes this visit significant isn’t just the venue or the guest list; it’s the convergence of realpolitik, domestic compulsions, and international necessity.

A Rift That Shook Diplomacy

The origins of the strain are well known. In June 2023, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen and Sikh separatist activist, was gunned down in British Columbia. The Canadian government soon alleged that Indian agents were involved in his assassination, an accusation India firmly rejected as baseless and politically motivated.

Diplomatic retaliation followed. High commissioners were expelled. Joint operations were paused. India halted visa services for Canadians. For the time, it appeared that decades of otherwise stable bilateral ties had been torpedoed by distrust and conflicting domestic narratives.

In this context, Carney’s invitation to Modi is more than diplomatic olive-branching. It is an acknowledgement that, for all the ideological friction and constituency pressures, global strategy cannot afford prolonged estrangement with India.

The India Equation: Too Big to Ignore

India is no longer just a populous democracy or a potential market. It is the world’s fourth-largest economy, a key player in semiconductor supply chains, and a strategic counterbalance to an increasingly assertive China. Nations are not just partnering with India; they are repositioning their foreign policy architecture around its rise.

For the G7, comprising the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, and Japan, inviting India is both strategic and symbolic. It sends a message that the West values engagement with large democracies of the Global South, especially at a time when Russian aggression and Chinese expansionism continue to destabilise global norms.

PM Modi’s presence underscores the recognition that India’s voice carries weight in shaping the global agenda on climate change, digital governance, energy security, and reformed multilateralism.

Canada’s Balancing Act

Prime Minister Carney’s decision to invite PM Modi is not without risk on the domestic front. The Sikh diaspora in Canada, politically influential and vocal, has criticised the move. The World Sikh Organisation and several so-called civil society actors have accused the Canadian government of compromising human rights advocacy for the sake of economic and strategic gain. However, it is evident that Canada’s ‘human rights advocacy’ lacks any substantial proof and was/is just a political move to appease pro-Khalistani sentiments. Some Liberal MPs, particularly from British Columbia and Ontario, are under intense pressure from their constituencies.

Yet Carney appears to be playing a longer game, choosing geopolitical necessity over Khalistani pressure. The fact that the other G7 leaders reportedly supported the invitation to Modi further reinforces that this was not an isolated call but a consensus within the democratic world.

PM Modi’s Calculated Outreach

From New Delhi’s standpoint, the G7 is not just an opportunity; it is a stage. Modi’s government is acutely aware that in the 21st century, diplomacy is as much about perception as it is about policy.

Carney is expected to raise several issues aligned with India’s global posture:

• Cooperation on critical minerals, particularly rare earth elements, which are crucial for clean energy technologies and electric vehicle manufacturing.

• Establishing consensus on the artificial intelligence governance and cybersecurity frameworks.

• Emphasising the need for reformed multilateralism, particularly in the UN Security Council.

• Strengthening maritime security collaboration in the Indo-Pacific.

• Advocating for climate financing mechanisms that are fair and equitable to developing nations.

For Modi, this visit is about asserting India’s identity not as a passive recipient of global decisions but as a co-author of global norms.

A New Era of Pragmatism

This summit also reflects a deeper evolution in global diplomacy. Old alliances based on ideological affinity are now tempered by economic interdependence and strategic utility. The days of unconditional support or enduring enmity are giving way to transactional pragmatism.

India and Canada, while not devoid of tensions, are both too important to each other and to the broader West to remain at odds for long. Trade, education, people-to-people ties, and strategic coordination demand at least functional engagement, if not warmth.

That’s what the G7 invitation symbolises: not necessarily trust restored, but channels reopened.

Reading the Global Chessboard

As global power becomes more diffused, institutions like the G7 are under pressure to remain relevant. That means embracing new voices, particularly from the Global South. India’s participation signals that the G7 are willing to adapt, albeit selectively, to the changing realities.

This year’s summit also occurs against a backdrop of multipolar flux:

• Russia’s continued war in Ukraine has fractured the global energy and food order.

• China’s increasing military and economic assertiveness, from Taiwan to the Himalayas, is alarming both democracies and neighbours.

• The UN Security Council remains paralysed by veto politics, prompting calls for new coalitions and governance frameworks.

In such a context, PM Modi’s presence offers the G7 both an economic anchor and a geopolitical bridge.

The Summit of Subtext

The optics will matter. A possible handshake between Modi and Carney, after months of strained silence, will not be seen as casual. It will signal the willingness to move forward, even if grudgingly.

A probable joint statement with India included will symbolise recognition. Not just of the past, but of the present, where India is no longer a country to be summoned; it is one to be partnered with.

And yet, for all the symbolism, real hurdles remain. Trust deficit, unresolved legal cases, extremist elements exploiting foreign soil, and community-led lobbying – these will not disappear in one summit.

But as seasoned diplomats often say, in international relations, a handshake is often the beginning of negotiation, not the end of conflict.

The Road Beyond Kananaskis

Whether this visit initiates a thaw in India–Canada ties or simply reflects a tactical pause in hostilities remains to be seen. What is undeniable, however, is that India’s trajectory is no longer subject to regional containment or selective engagement. It is now woven into the fabric of global decision-making.

The G7 Summit in Kananaskis will not be a celebration. It will be a negotiation, a delicate balance between principle and pragmatism, between narrative and necessity.

And as Prime Minister Modi takes his place at the table, India will be watching not just what he says but what the world wants to hear.

The author has served three decades in uniform, of which six years were with the Ministry of External Affairs as a director in the Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Service. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.