B.C. Premier faces backlash over planned India trade mission from Sikh body

January 7, 2026

Parteek Singh Mahal

A high-stakes trade mission to India announced by Premier David Eby has been met with swift condemnation from the Sikh community in British Columbia, with local leaders calling for an immediate cancellation of the trip.

On Tuesday, Premier David Eby announced that he, alongside Jobs Minister Ravi Kahlon, would lead a provincial delegation to major Indian economic hubs including New Delhi, Chandigarh, Mumbai, and Bengaluru next week. The mission is framed as a strategic move to safeguard British Columbia’s economy against global instability by diversifying trade and reducing the province’s heavy reliance on the United States market.

However, the Management Committee of Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey issued a formal press release on Wednesday, labeling the timing of the visit “profoundly disturbing and deeply hurtful.”

The committee’s opposition stems from the June 18, 2023, murder of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen and Surrey resident who was killed outside the Gurdwara. The Sikh community argues that proceeding with an official state visit ignores the gravity of an assassination on Canadian soil linked by federal intelligence to agents of the Indian government.

“This was not only a targeted killing—it was an attack on a sacred space… and on the fundamental values Canada claims to uphold,” the committee stated.

The Gurdwara Management Committee pointed to ongoing extortion and threats against Punjabi business owners in B.C. as evidence of a persistent security crisis.

“Premier David Eby must not shirk his fundamental responsibility to the Sikh community by deflecting blame onto a federal government,” the release stated, accusing the province of prioritizing trade over the public safety of its residents.

The committee is urging the Premier to suspend all diplomatic and trade travel to India until full justice is secured for the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar and those responsible are held fully accountable.

As of Wednesday morning, the Premier’s Office has not yet responded to the call for cancellation. The standoff highlights a growing tension between the B.C. government’s economic diversification goals and the safety concerns of one of the province’s most prominent diaspora communities.