Poilievre might have reason to show fealty to Modi: confidential sources told Radio-Canada that Indian officials in Canada undermined the campaign of one of Poilievre’s rivals for the Conservative leadership in 2022. Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown, who had previously been one of the Canadian politicians closest to Modi, had begun criticizing the BJP’s draconian crackdown on Indian farmers protesting agricultural reforms.

For India, a country with an increasingly militaristic and authoritarian government desperate to maintain its slipping label as “the world’s largest democracy,” Canada’s blessing is invaluable.