ABSTRACT
Commentators of the Canada-India relationship frequently invoke a hazy historical narrative that both countries have a long enduring past built upon shared values. As this analysis illustrates, that lazy depiction fails to stand up to historical scrutiny and does a disservice to properly understanding relations between Ottawa and New Delhi. Rather, official relations have often been characterized by periods of tension, grievances, misunderstanding, and aloofness. Significant immigration from India to Canada, however, especially since the 1990s, has enhanced the role of people-to-people links in developing relations beyond official levels and in doing so has helped to cultivate cultural, educational, economic, and tourist connections that were previously meagre.
