Clashes erupted outside a Hindu temple near Toronto. They’re the latest sign of Canada and India’s spiraling relations

CNN —

On a recent Sunday afternoon in the Canadian city of Brampton, just outside of Toronto, a face-off between two religious groups outside a Hindu temple erupted into violence.

Pro-Khalistan Sikhs, there to protest a visit by Indian consular officials, clashed with members of the Hindu congregation. Each side hurled flagpoles and fists at one another in an incident which triggered days of violence across Canada and led to multiple arrests.

The clashes earlier this month were the latest flashpoint in a broader dispute between Canada and India, which has simmered for decades but boiled over in the last year over the assassination of a Sikh separatist on Canadian soil.

Last year, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he had credible information linking the Indian government to the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, an Indian-born Canadian national and Sikh dissident who was an outspoken supporter of Khalistan, a proposed autonomous homeland for Sikhs in northern India.

Canadian authorities have repeatedly said they have shared the evidence with Indian counterparts. Indian government officials deny that Canada has provided evidence and have called the allegations absurd.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attends a press conference following Canada's expulsion of six Indian diplomats, in Ottawa on October 14, 2024.

New Delhi had previously designated Nijjar as a terrorist and accused him of being behind a banned militant group that sought to “radicalize the Sikh community across the world” in support of Khalistan. The movement is banned in India and considered a national security threat.

Tensions between Ottawa and New Delhi further escalated last month when the Canadian government publicly accused