Safety of Indians in Canada priority for government: Muraleedharan

As many as 8.3 lakh Canadian citizens have affiliation to Hinduism while 7.7 lakh reported Sikhism as their religion, the government told Parliament on Friday, citing Ottawa's census data for 2021.

The information was provided by Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha.

"As per available information through Canada Census data (2021), 8,30,000 Canadian citizens reported affiliation to Hinduism and 7,70,000 Canadian citizens reported Sikhism as their religion," Muraleedharan said.

He said the safety and well-being of Indian nationals in Canada is a priority for the government.

The ties between India and Canada have been under severe strain following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations in September linking Indian agents to the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia in June.

India strongly rejected the charges.

"The Indian mission/consulates in Canada are constantly engaged with the Indian community, including on measures to ensure their safety and well-being," Muraleedharan said.

"The Ministry (of External Affairs) and our mission/consulates in Canada regularly take up with the concerned Canadian authorities any untoward incidents related to the Indian community including hate crimes," he added.

"India has expressed our concern and requested them to undertake investigations, and hold the perpetrators accountable," the minister said.

Muraleedharan said the total India-Canada trade volume in 2020-21 was USD 5.647 billion while it was reported to be USD 6.896 billion in 2021-22 and USD 8.277 billion in 2022-23.