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CNN-News18 has evidence of how Khalistani elements have been given asylum in Canada since 2013 and the trend increased manifold after 2019, the year Trudeau saved his government by getting NDP’s Jagmeet Singh onboard
Jagmeet Singh’s NDP parted ways with a supply-and-confidence deal with Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party in September. (File image/Reuters)
Canada’s soft spot for Khalistani sympathisers is an open secret. And it’s not just limited to giving them a platform or turning a blind eye to their provocations. The Canadian government under Justin Trudeau has systematically been giving Khalistani elements shelter in the country.
CNN-News18 has evidence of how Khalistani elements have been given asylum in Canada since 2013 and the trend increased manifold after 2019, the year Trudeau saved his government by getting NDP’s Jagmeet Singh onboard.
CNN-News18 wrote to the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada and sought details of that disturbing trend this month. Their response only confirmed the suspicions.
Over the last 10 years, Canada has finalised 3,851 militant-linked asylum claims. As per the Canadian government, a Sikh militant is a claimant who says they are in danger because they are members of or associated with a Sikh militant organisation or group in their alleged country of persecution. In this case, these asylum seekers listed India as their country of persecution.
From less than 100 cases before 2020 to 143 in 2021 and over 811 cases in 2022, the number of claims finalised by the Refugee Protection Division went up by over 700% in recent years.
CNN-News18 found an even darker truth: individuals tied to the 1985 Air India bombing—one of the worst terror attacks in history—donated money to Canadian political campaigns.
So why did so many Sikh militants get refuge in Canada? Was Trudeau and his ally benefiting financially?
While there is no definitive link, documents accessed by CNN-News18 reveal that many Khalistani sympathisers have often donated to both the Liberal Party and the NDP.
Financial records from Elections Canada reveal donations made to Canadian politician Jagmeet Singh by individuals tied to the 1985 Air India bombing: Ripudaman Singh Malik and Inderjit Singh Reyat.
Inderjit Singh Reyat was the only terrorist convicted in the Air India Flight 182 bombing that killed 329 people in 1985. He has donated close to 3,000 dollars to Jagmeet Singh’s party.
While Ripudaman Singh was killed in Canada in 2022, Inderjit Singh Reyat is now a free man in Canada. He’s returned to normal life after spending two decades in prison. Despite his role in the deaths of over 300 innocents, Reyat was freed in 2017, and since then he has been consistently donating to the NDP.
As Canada grapples with its diplomatic fallout with India, this revelation adds fuel to the fire. Over 3,800 asylum claims, growing extremist networks, and now financial ties to politicians. Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau may call these “allegations”, but the numbers tell a different story.