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India’s Minority Genocide Alert: Party Report Card |
How We Graded Parties
Using a strictly non-partisan approach, this report card evaluates Canada’s five main federal parties on their responses to rising signs of genocide and BJP state-sponsored violence targeting Indian minorities, particularly Muslims, Christians, Dalits, Sikhs, including other marginalized groups. We assessed party actions across five categories:
We reviewed actions and positions from 2020 onward, with particular attention to events from 2022 to 2025. We drew from House of Commons debates, motions, official statements, MP comments, news coverage, government policies and diaspora advocacy. Parties were graded based on whether they took clear public positions, followed up with concrete actions, or failed to speak or act when there was clear evidence of rising BJP right-wing authoritarianism and human rights abuses. Silence or vague responses were factored into the grading. Each category was graded individually, and then averaged to determine a party’s final score. In all cases, we prioritized action over rhetoric.
- Stance on the Modi government and Hindu nationalist politics.
- Response to anti-Muslim laws and discriminatory policies.
- Condemnation of hate speech, lynchings and attacks on religious minorities.
- Support for sanctions or other forms of targeted accountability.
- Response to foreign interference from Indian government officials and threats against Canadian residents.
We reviewed actions and positions from 2020 onward, with particular attention to events from 2022 to 2025. We drew from House of Commons debates, motions, official statements, MP comments, news coverage, government policies and diaspora advocacy. Parties were graded based on whether they took clear public positions, followed up with concrete actions, or failed to speak or act when there was clear evidence of rising BJP right-wing authoritarianism and human rights abuses. Silence or vague responses were factored into the grading. Each category was graded individually, and then averaged to determine a party’s final score. In all cases, we prioritized action over rhetoric.
Context and Additional Analysis
Liberal Party: Canada’s 2022 Indo-Pacific Strategy prioritized closer economic and security ties with India, despite the well-documented rise in state-led violence against minorities in India. The strategy described India as a key partner yet made minimal mention of human rights. Even after large-scale demolitions of Muslim homes, discriminatory citizenship laws and open calls for genocide by Hindutva extremist figures, the Liberal government did not issue public statements of concern. When allegations surfaced in 2023 that Indian government agents may have been involved in the assassination of Canadian Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the government publicly confirmed the existence of credible evidence and expelled a diplomat. This was a major turning point. But prior to that, the government had been reluctant to acknowledge foreign interference by agents of India's right wing nationalist government. Liberals established a foreign interference commission, however communities still expressed concerns regarding the adequacy and effectiveness of these actions in fully addressing systemic surveillance and threats faced by Indian Muslim and Sikh Canadians. The Liberals have not supported any Magnitsky sanctions against Indian government officials implicated in human rights abuses.
Conservative Party: The Conservatives have generally framed India as a close ally. They rarely criticize the Modi government or raise concerns about the treatment of minorities in India. Instead, their messaging focuses on India as a trade and defence partner and a counterbalance to China. Several Conservative MPs have participated in diaspora events that praised Indian nationalism and have avoided commenting on discriminatory laws like CAA or discriminatory policies targeting Muslim communities. The party was highly critical of the Liberal government following the Nijjar assassination. While this pressure helped push the foreign interference inquiry forward, the Conservatives did not connect their criticisms to the broader issue of state violence or repression in India. They have not introduced or supported motions calling for human rights accountability or sanctions against Indian officials. Their record shows consistent silence on violence against Indian minorities and a reluctance to acknowledge how Hindutva nationalism has impacted South Asian communities in Canada.
New Democratic Party (NDP): The NDP has been one of the few parties to speak out consistently about the rise of authoritarianism and religious persecution in BJP-governed India. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has called attention to the targeting of Sikhs and Muslims in India and has also addressed how Hindutva violence is bleeding into Canadian diaspora spaces. MP Heather McPherson and other NDP MPs have raised concerns in Parliament about discriminatory BJP laws. The party has called for sanctions and named Hindutva nationalism directly, something most other federal parties have avoided. After the killing of Nijjar in 2023, the NDP strongly supported an independent inquiry into foreign interference and called for full transparency. They raised concerns about the act itself and the broader failure of the Canadian state to protect vulnerable communities under threat. The party supported the creation of the foreign interference commission and emphasized the need to consult directly with diaspora communities. The NDP has been vocal on this issue through several parliamentary actions, including calls for studies and petitions.
Bloc Québécois: The Bloc has participated in calls for greater transparency around foreign interference, particularly about election integrity and national sovereignty. They supported the creation of the public inquiry into foreign interference and were active in pushing for public hearings and better intelligence sharing with MPs. Blocs wrote to the High Commissioner of India to express disapproval of the repeal of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, which granted special autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir. During the 2021 federal election, the Bloc indicated intentions to submit a motion urging the Modi government to reverse its actions in Kashmir.
Green Party: Greens engaged with BJP human rights abuses in Kashmir, notably supporting a 2023 call by academics and civil society leaders urging G20 member states to boycott India-hosted meetings in the region. There is limited engagement with the treatment of Indian minorities under Prime Minister Modi. Their positions on discriminatory laws, anti-minority violence, and Hindutva nationalism or the rise of majoritarianism in India exist through limited interviews and petitions.
Conservative Party: The Conservatives have generally framed India as a close ally. They rarely criticize the Modi government or raise concerns about the treatment of minorities in India. Instead, their messaging focuses on India as a trade and defence partner and a counterbalance to China. Several Conservative MPs have participated in diaspora events that praised Indian nationalism and have avoided commenting on discriminatory laws like CAA or discriminatory policies targeting Muslim communities. The party was highly critical of the Liberal government following the Nijjar assassination. While this pressure helped push the foreign interference inquiry forward, the Conservatives did not connect their criticisms to the broader issue of state violence or repression in India. They have not introduced or supported motions calling for human rights accountability or sanctions against Indian officials. Their record shows consistent silence on violence against Indian minorities and a reluctance to acknowledge how Hindutva nationalism has impacted South Asian communities in Canada.
New Democratic Party (NDP): The NDP has been one of the few parties to speak out consistently about the rise of authoritarianism and religious persecution in BJP-governed India. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has called attention to the targeting of Sikhs and Muslims in India and has also addressed how Hindutva violence is bleeding into Canadian diaspora spaces. MP Heather McPherson and other NDP MPs have raised concerns in Parliament about discriminatory BJP laws. The party has called for sanctions and named Hindutva nationalism directly, something most other federal parties have avoided. After the killing of Nijjar in 2023, the NDP strongly supported an independent inquiry into foreign interference and called for full transparency. They raised concerns about the act itself and the broader failure of the Canadian state to protect vulnerable communities under threat. The party supported the creation of the foreign interference commission and emphasized the need to consult directly with diaspora communities. The NDP has been vocal on this issue through several parliamentary actions, including calls for studies and petitions.
Bloc Québécois: The Bloc has participated in calls for greater transparency around foreign interference, particularly about election integrity and national sovereignty. They supported the creation of the public inquiry into foreign interference and were active in pushing for public hearings and better intelligence sharing with MPs. Blocs wrote to the High Commissioner of India to express disapproval of the repeal of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, which granted special autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir. During the 2021 federal election, the Bloc indicated intentions to submit a motion urging the Modi government to reverse its actions in Kashmir.
Green Party: Greens engaged with BJP human rights abuses in Kashmir, notably supporting a 2023 call by academics and civil society leaders urging G20 member states to boycott India-hosted meetings in the region. There is limited engagement with the treatment of Indian minorities under Prime Minister Modi. Their positions on discriminatory laws, anti-minority violence, and Hindutva nationalism or the rise of majoritarianism in India exist through limited interviews and petitions.