Anand taking two different approaches to building 'bridges' with China, India

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand is off to India and China in the coming weeks, where she plans to take two distinct approaches to mending frayed ties with the world's two most populous countries.

"I do not think it is wise to group countries in one region of the world together, and certainly not those two countries," Anand told The Canadian Press.

"Our relationship with each of these countries is separate and we are approaching them very differently."

Anand spoke Monday after the United Nations General Assembly's high-level week in New York, where she spent several days meeting with foreign counterparts to define Canada's foreign policy.

Those meetings saw Anand distinguish the approach Prime Minister Mark Carney's government is taking to foreign policy from that of his predecessor Justin Trudeau.

Anand is pursuing a foreign policy focused more on shoring up Canada's security and economic resilience in a volatile global climate.

That approach includes restoring ties with India and China.

"In this time where countries are choosing a more protectionist path, my focus as minister is to build bridges wherever possible," Anand said.

"In this era where we see countries standing up for their own sovereign interests, there are points of commonality. There are ways to co-operate, and there is every reason to continue to support multilateral institutions."

Anand will visit both China and India in mid-October. She said the two stops will look quite different.

She met Monday with Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar at the UN, after both countries restored their top envoys.

"The appointment of High Commissioners is welcome as we rebuild ties. (We) discussed further steps in that regard," Jaishankar wrote in a social media post after the meeting.

Anand said while India and Canada "continue to elevate the diplomatic relationship," it's a gradual process that's happening only because India is taking seriously Ottawa's concerns about transnational repression and foreign interference.

"The step-by-step approach will at all times ensure that there is a law enforcement dialogue between Canada and India at the officials level, so that the public safety interests of Canada are never overlooked," she said.

Canada's national security adviser Nathalie Drouin met in New Delhi with her Indian counterpart over the past month, while high-level Indian officials also welcomed Global Affairs Canada deputy minister David Morrison, the top bureaucrat in the foreign service.

The officials discussed ways to both advance trade and ensure that concerns about security can be worked out without derailing the bilateral relationship. Both sides have described the process as one of gradually rebuilding trust.

Relations between Canada and India were on ice for months after Ottawa accused New Delhi of playing a role in the June 2023 assassination of a Sikh activist near Vancouver.

In October 2024, the relationship fractured further when the RCMP said it had strong evidence linking a campaign of violence and intimidation targeting Canadians to the "highest levels" of the Indian government.

India rejected that allegation and claimed Ottawa has allowed Sikh extremists to issue threats and commit acts of violence in both countries. New Delhi also has accused Ottawa of not doing enough to stop a repeat of the 1984 Air India bombing.

Each country expelled diplomats in a tit-for-tat exchange during the dispute.

The chill began to lift slightly in June, when Carney invited Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the G7 summit in Alberta. Both countries subsequently agreed to restore their top diplomats and start law enforcement talks.

Some Sikh diaspora groups have expressed alarm at the prospect of Ottawa sharing sensitive information with New Delhi.