Canada's Sikhs have been in the spotlight since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last year accused India's government of involvement in the June 18, 2023, murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh separatist leader in Canada and Moninder Singh's friend, who was shot in Surrey.

Nijjar was fatally shot in his pickup truck in June 2023 after he left the Sikh temple he led in the city of Surrey, British Columbia. An Indian-born citizen of Canada, he owned a plumbing business and was a leader in a movement to create an independent Sikh homeland, which is banned in India.

The diplomatic rift has suddenly grown more stark as Canada amplifies its accusations that India is directing lethal operations abroad.