OTTAWA – Canada on Friday said it was temporarily suspending in-person operations at consulates in several Indian cities and warned of visa processing delays amid a diplomatic dispute over the murder of a Sikh separatist leader in British Columbia.

The announcements affecting consulates in Bengaluru, Chandigarh and Mumbai came hours after Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said Canada had withdrawn 41 diplomats from India.

Despite the dispute, two senior Indian government sources said the uproar would not escalate into a trade dispute or impact investment, with imports from Canada continuing to flow.

Bilateral trade touched US$8 billion (S$11 billion) in 2022.

New Delhi in September asked Ottawa to reduce its diplomatic presence after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau cited what he said was credible evidence of a potential link between Indian agents and the murder in June of Mr Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 45, who was shot outside a Sikh temple in British Columbia.

India denies any connection to the shooting.

“The Consulates General of Canada in Bengaluru, Chandigarh and Mumbai are temporarily suspending in-person operations,” said a statement from the Canadian High Commission, or embassy, in New Delhi, adding that services remain normal in the capital.

Ms Joly said India threatened to unilaterally revoke the diplomats’ official status by Friday unless they left.

This move, she said, was unreasonable, unprecedented and clearly violated the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

“Given the implications of India’s actions on the safety of our diplomats, we have facilitated their safe departure from India,” Ms Joly told a press conference.

“If we allow the norm of diplomatic immunity to be broken, no diplomats anywhere on the planet would be safe. So for this reason, we will not reciprocate,” she added.

‘Strong connection’

The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada department said it was reducing employee numbers in India to five from 27, with visa processing times likely to be impacted even though the majority were handled abroad.

“Canada has a strong connection with Indian citizens, and will continue to welcome them, whether they wish to come here to visit, work, study, be reunited with loved ones, or live permanently in the country,” it added.

Canada now has 21 diplomats in India. The 41 who left were accompanied by 42 dependents.

India has dismissed Mr Trudeau’s suspicions that its agents were linked to the murder of Mr Nijjar, a Canadian citizen whom New Delhi labelled a terrorist.

Around two million Canadians – about 5 per cent of the country’s overall population – have Indian heritage.

India is by far Canada’s largest source of global students, with Indians making up roughly 40 per cent of study permit holders.

The Indian Foreign Ministry defended its downsizing of Canada’s diplomatic presence and rejected Ms Joly’s statement that it violated the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

“The state of our bilateral relations, the much higher number of Canadian diplomats in India, and their continued interference in our internal affairs warrant a parity in mutual diplomatic presence in New Delhi and Ottawa,” it said. REUTERS