Canada's spy agency on Monday (Mar 24) alleged that India and China were likely to interfere in the country's upcoming general elections, scheduled for April 28.

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Canada's accusations against India and China?

Addressing a press conference, Vanessa Lloyd, deputy director of operations at Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) said hostile state actors were increasingly leveraging artificial intelligence to meddle in elections.

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She said, "The PRC (People's Republic of China) is highly likely to use AI-enabled tools to attempt to interfere with Canada's democratic process in this current election."

While Lloyd did not reveal exactly what Canada thinks India might do, she claimed that "We have also seen that the government of India has the intent and capability to interfere in Canadian communities and democratic processes".

"It's often very difficult to establish a direct link between foreign interference activities and election results ... Nevertheless, threat activities can erode public trust in the integrity of Canada's democratic processes and institutions," she added, as quoted by Reuters.

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However, Lloyd did not provide any evidence to back her claims.

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Turbulent India-Canada relations

CSIS's accusations against India and China come at a time when Ottawa's relations with both New Delhi and Beijing are chilly. Both nations have earlier denied similar allegations of interference.

India and Canada have been at odds following the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Khalistani terrorist and Sikh separatist leader.

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During Justin Trudeau's time as the prime minister of Canada, Canada's relations with old ally India deteriorated at an alarming pace. The two nations, for months, have been at odds over Justin Trudeau's repeated accusations—without proof— that New Delhi was involved in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Khalistani terrorist and Sikh separatist leader. 

Despite Trudeau's claims in Parliament that India was involved in Nijjar's death — which happened on Sept 18, 2023 — no evidence has been produced to back this up. India insists it has nothing to hide, and that it was expecting the Canadian government to justify its accusations.  

(With inputs from agencies)