Canadian premiers urge Carney to appoint Brad Wall as High Commissioner to India

Toronto: The premiers of two Canadian provinces have suggested that Prime Minister Mark Carney appoint a former leader of Saskatchewan as the country's next High Commissioner to India.
Brad Wall was Premier (equivalent of an Indian Chief Minister) for over a decade from 2007 to 2018. His successor in that position, Scott Moe, told reporters that Wall would make the ideal candidate for Canada's top diplomat in New Delhi.
According to the outlet National Post, Moe said he would be a 'proponent' of such an appointment because 'of the effort and focus that he provided' the relations between the province and India and 'province-to-industry relations in not just India but in many countries around the world.'
He made these remarks on Wednesday at the joint press conference with his Alberta counterpart Danielle Smith. And she agreed with him, saying, 'I'd be supportive of that.'
She added, 'I think that Saskatchewan has done incredibly impressive work on expanding its footprint internationally through its trade offices, in particular India.'
Wall played a central role in securing a contract for the Saskatchewan-based Cameco Corporation, to supply over seven million pounds of uranium concentrate to India, over a five-year timeframe in 2015. Wall was present in person as the contract was signed in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who was on a bilateral visit that spring, and his then Canadian counterpart Stephen Harper.
The decision to appoint HCs to each other's capitals came when Modi met Canadian PM Mark Carney on the margins of the G7 leaders' summit in Kananaskis on Tuesday.
While Canada's last High Commissioner Cameron Mackay left last summer, his Indian counterpart Sanjay Kumar Verma was among the six officials New Delhi withdrew in October 2024 after Ottawa asked for waiving of their diplomatic immunity so they could be questioned in connection with violent criminal activity in the country. In retaliation, India expelled six Canadian diplomats including its Acting High Commissioner at the time.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Hans India

30 minutes ago

• Hans India

Omar Abdullah deliberately politicising water sharing with Punjab: AAP

Chandigarh: The Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab on Friday questioned Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's remarks that 'we will not give water from the Indus River to Punjab' and accused him of deliberately politicising the issue. AAP spokesperson Neel Garg said the authority to decide on river waters lies with the Central government, and Omar Abdullah cannot take a unilateral decision on this matter. He emphasised that Punjab needs water and, therefore, Punjab should also get a share of the Indus River water, adding that during the war with Pakistan, the Indian government had decided to annul the Indus Water Treaty. 'Now, it is the Indian government's responsibility to appropriately distribute the remaining water and give Punjab its rightful share,' he said. Garg pointed out that like Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab is also a border state. 'Whenever war occurs, Punjab becomes the battleground. And when the country needs food grains, it becomes the granary of the nation. Now that there is water available, Punjab has a legitimate claim over it.' He highlighted that Punjab needs water today, as most of its regions have entered the dark zone. 'In the process of filling the nation's granaries, we have been deprived of our own water. Now that the Indus Water Treaty has been annulled, Punjab has the primary right over this water because it will not only bring relief to our barren lands but also boost our agriculture. When farmers prosper, the nation prospers,' he said. Garg added that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann also stated, after the annulment of the Indus Treaty, that Punjab should receive a share of the water that is being prevented from flowing to Pakistan. 'Therefore, the government of India must consider this matter,' he said. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) also expressed surprise at Omar Abdullah's statement. In a statement, former Minister and senior SAD leader Daljit Singh Cheema said what Omar Abdullah was demanding was another attempt to do injustice to Punjab. He said that while filling the food bowl of the country, Punjab had lost its groundwater, which had fallen to alarming levels. He said the quantity of water in rivers had also gone down substantially, adding that the farmers of Punjab had taken huge debt on their shoulders to fulfil the food requirement of the country. Earlier, speaking on constructing a canal by the government of India to divert excess water from three rivers of the Indus system in Jammu and Kashmir to Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan, Chief Minister Abdullah cited the 45-year-old Shahpur Kandi barrage dispute with Punjab and asked, 'Did they give us water?'

India Today

33 minutes ago

• India Today

MAGA hates you: Trump fumes at Fox News, WSJ over approval ratings and Iran coverage

Friends can become enemies in a heartbeat. This happened to Rupert Murdoch's Fox News, a long-time supporter of US President Donald Trump, after it gave lower approval ratings to the US President. As for Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the US President disagreed with their coverage of took to Truth Social to discuss Fox's "long-standing bias" and "faulty election polls", and criticised the WSJ for its reporting on America's plan on Crooked FoxNews Polls got the Election WRONG, I won by much more than they said I would, and have been biased against me for years. They are always wrong and negative. It's why MAGA HATES FoxNews, even though their anchors are GREAT (sic)," Trump posted on Truth Social. Trump blasted the network over what he called a "fake border poll" and also accused it of using "discredited pollsters despite repeated inaccuracies". The poll, released on Wednesday, indicated that 46% of respondents approve of Trump's performance, while 54% expressed disapproval."This has gone on for years, but they never change the incompetent polling company that does their work. Now a new FoxNews poll comes out this morning giving me a little more than 50% at the Border, and yet the Border is miraculously perfect. NOBODY WAS ABLE TO COME LAST MONTH. 60,000 people came in with Sleepy Joe in the same month last year (sic)," he a follow-up post, he came down heavily on Murdoch's flagship newspaper, WSJ, after it reported on Wednesday that the US was planning to attack Iran, but was holding off in a last-ditch hope to persuading the Iranians to voluntarily abandon their nuclear ambitions."The Wall Street Journal has no idea what my thoughts are concerning Iran! (sic)" Trump wrote on in the Fox Poll, Donald Trump's lowest numbers were actually on the topic of inflation, with 64% disapproving of his handling of this key economic issue, and just 34% approving, according to The Daily his outburst was particularly over how he was being rated on the relationship with Fox News, traditionally supportive of him, and The Wall Street Journal, which has both applauded and criticised his policies, has been long and this year, Trump hosted Murdoch himself in the Oval Office, where he referred to the media mogul as "legendary" and "one of the most talented people in the world", while also musing that he would need to "talk to" Murdoch about the Journal's coverage of his administration, according to a New York-based news website, Media Lucas, professor of international politics at University College Dublin, said Trump's decision to bring the military into Los Angeles to deal with protests also harmed his rating due to the method Fox poll is going to get headlines in part because it's Fox, where you have a lot of Trump supporters, in part because the numbers are so stark, and in part because of Trump's angry reaction on social media," Newsweek quoted Lucas as noted that Trump's poll numbers (on Fox News) have been fluctuating, with a notable decline in April due to concerns over the economy, trade, inflation, and the negative impact of his tariff added that deploying the military in Los Angeles to handle protests also hurt Trump's approval, even among those who support his immigration policy but disagreed with the approach. 'He's slipping' on migration, Lucas said, according to InMust Watch

Time of India

35 minutes ago

• Time of India

Amid Israel-Iran conflict and World War III fear, Trump rants about not playing golf for weeks

'Haven't hit a ball in 4 weeks' Live Events White House on Israel-Iran conflict (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel US President Donald Trump recently admitted that he hasn't been able to play golf for about a month after he navigated around several questions regarding the United States' involvement in Iran. Even as geopolitical tensions are at an all-time high across the Middle East, Trump left the G7 summit early Tuesday evening to issue a stark warning to Iran's leadership and civilian population. He urged people in Tehran to 'immediately evacuate' in light of what he described as a potentially imminent strike as conflict between Israel and Iran continues to the current situation, Trump admitted that he hasn't been able to hit the greens and fairways for several weeks, The Irish Star reports. Trump also recently hit the headlines after soccer bosses seemingly ditched their anti-racism policy ahead of next year's World Cup.'35 club championships, you all know that,' he told reporters who gathered at the White House on Wednesday to see the two 'beautiful' flagpoles that were installed. '35 club championships. I haven't hit a ball in 3 weeks, 4 weeks.'When one correspondent joked: 'It's time to get out there,' Trump replied: 'Been a little busy. Wouldn't you rather have me doing what I'm doing in the end?'As Wednesday's discussion turned to escalating tensions in the Middle East, Trump quickly avoided directly confirming any US involvement in the conflict. "I can't say that," he said. "I may do it, I may not do it. Nobody knows what I want to do. But I can say this: Iran's got a lot of trouble and wants to negotiate."Critics have expressed apprehension on Trump's claims of winning "35 club championships" in golf with sportswriter Rick Reilly, author of Commander in Cheat, telling Vox the figure is '100 percent a lie.' According to Reilly, Trump would sometimes declare himself champion by playing solo rounds at newly opened courses and then naming himself the winner.'Trump's going around telling people he has won 20. But that's 100 percent a lie,' Reilly told Vox.'I actually played with him once, and he told me how he does it: Whenever he opens a new golf course, because he owns 14 and operates another five, he plays the first club champion by himself and declares that the club championship and puts his name on the wall.'According to CBS News, Trump is heading to the New Jersey course on Friday. He will receive an intelligence briefing before leaving, then again at the White House on Saturday, with him returning to the course after buying time by setting a two-week deadline to decide on strikes on White House on Thursday announced that President Donald Trump plans to decide within the next two weeks whether the US will intervene in the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict. Quoting Trump, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters: 'Based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks.'On Friday, Iran fired a fresh salvo of missiles at Israel, state television reported, on the eighth day of the war between the two foes. A news anchor described "images in the sky over the occupied territories (Israel) of Iranian missiles arriving", as the channel broadcast the footage with military music playing in the background.