India, April 29 -- As the freeze over the winter gave way to the thaw and sunnier days of April, the return of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to power in Ottawa could also bring with it some warmth to the chill in relations between India and Canada.

Carney could set an agenda independent of that inherited from his predecessor Justin Trudeau. Among the items to be addressed could be ties between India and Canada, which cratered after Trudeau's statement in the House of Commons on September 18, 2023, that there were "credible allegations" of a potential link between Indian agents and the killing of pro-Khalistan figure Hardeep Singh Nijjar three months earlier in Surrey, British Columbia.

Carney has also signalled he may be willing t...