In 2016, during a successful meeting with Ontario premier Kathleen Wynne in New Delhi, Modi had urged Trudeau to visit India to promote trade. In January 2018, after India imposed import duties on chickpeas, peas, and lentils, hurting Canadian exporters, a visit seemed an excellent idea―not to mention the photo opportunities!
It was not a good idea―and it got off to a bad start. Modi, who is famous for hugging world leaders, didn’t even show up at the airport to greet Trudeau and his family, instead sending a secretary of state for agriculture in his place. The Trudeaus then began a tour of the most photogenic sights in India, showing up at each with different Indian outfits, smiling and making the namaste gesture. They were photographed at the Golden Temple, the Taj Mahal, and the Swaminarayan Akshardham temple, ticking off boxes for Sikh, Muslim, and Hindu voters in Canada. It was too much. Although the greetings on the streets were positive, Indians started making fun of the Trudeaus and their elaborate costumes. Omar Abdullah, leader of the National Conference party, found the whole spectacle excessive. “Is it just me or is this choreographed cuteness all just a bit much now?” he tweeted. “I thought it was a little too Indian for Indians,” said Indian fashion designer Anand Bhushan on Indian TV. “A little tacky in terms of sartorial choices. He looked like a complete backup dancer for a cheap Bollywood movie.” Back in Canada, Louis-Alexandre Lanthier, Trudeau’s former executive assistant, was watching it go badly and thinks he knows why it went awry. “When Justin goes to Park Extension in his riding, and he’s surrounded by the Indian and the Pakistani community in the parade, and he is wearing the garb, they love it. They go totally nuts for it. But then when you show up in India and you do the same thing, it’s like, ‘Is he mocking us?’ ”
Unfriendly vibes: Narendra Modi and Justin Trudeau ahead of the G20 Summit in New Delhi in September 2023 | AFP
The trip was not a disciplined business mission with a photo op or two thrown in. It was set up like a royal tour, as though Justin and Sophie were Will and Kate. The Trudeau people should have seen the reaction coming. The week before, British journalist Piers Morgan had described Trudeau in his column in the Daily Mail as “the worst kind of hectoring, bully pulpit smart-ass; dripping with virtuous self-aggrandizing sanctimony”―and it had gone viral globally. The progressive poster boy was starting to irritate people like Morgan, and they were ready to attack. Trudeau had lived by the photo op. Now he would die by it. There are moments in the evolution of a brand when the people running it have to change their game. Trudeau had reached that point but did not realize it, and he was suddenly a figure of fun, with comedians around the world making jokes about his outfits. Overnight, he set a new global threshold for cringe.
Trudeau had tense exchanges with Modi during the G20 [held in India in September 2023]. Modi publicly chided Canada for allowing “continuing anti-India activities of extremist elements in [the country]. They are promoting secessionism and inciting violence against Indian diplomats, damaging diplomatic premises, and threatening the Indian community in Canada and their places of worship.” Trudeau responded that he had talked to Modi about foreign interference, without mentioning the assassination of [Hardeep Singh] Nijjar. It was a frosty exchange, the lowlight of a difficult trip. Trudeau tried and failed to ensure that the closing communiqué included a mention of Ukraine. Then the Canadian plane broke down and the delegation had to wait until a replacement could be flown in from Canada. It was another terrible visit to India for Trudeau, and he didn’t even get to dress up.
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India reacted swiftly, declaring the allegations “absurd and motivated,” and again complained that the Canadians were sheltering Khalistani extremists. It was a full-on row, with worrying implications for the relationship. There are about two million Canadians of Indian origin, and about 300,000 Indian students in Canadian schools. Canada expelled an Indian diplomat. India responded by expelling one Canadian, then stopped issuing visas, and finally expelled forty-one Canadian diplomats. Nationalist Indians were furious with Trudeau and took to social media to denounce him. Tellingly, they did not deny that India had killed Nijjar. It should not have been necessary, in their view, if Canada had cracked down on Khalistani separatists. Sushant Sareen, a senior fellow at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi, put it this way on Twitter: “If we did it, it was right; if we didn’t, you were wrong.”
Excerpted with permission from Simon & Schuster India