While Trudeau's comments have angered India, they seem to have struck a chord among the Canadian Sikhs living in Surrey in British Colombia province, considered to be the hotbed of Khalistani activities.



Trudeau's allegations brought a sense of vindication to activists in Canada’s Sikh population, who vowed to redouble their campaign for an independent Punjabi state, Khalistan, in the north of India, as reported by the FinancialTimes.

Punjab is the homeland of the Sikhs, and outside India, the Sikh community is the largest population.

They have hailed Trudeau as a "hero" and said he was "vocalising" about their issues.

The west coast province, which has long welcomed immigrants from across Asia, is home to more than 300,000 Punjabis, accounting for about 6 per cent of the population. Another 14,000 Gujarati people, many of whom support Modi and share his Hindu faith, also live in BC.

Now some Sikhs in Surrey say their campaign is about to gain new momentum from the international attention Trudeau has suddenly drawn to their cause.

“Often this movement — this Khalistan movement — is considered a fringe movement,” Singh said. “[But] numbers are growing day by day, and this is going to help the people who might have fear inside of them . . . to get behind the cause.”

Sikhs make up about 2 per cent of Canada’s population but are well represented at the highest levels of the country’s politics and commerce.

Among them is Jagmeet Singh, the leader of Canada’s leftwing New Democratic party, which supports Trudeau’s government on important legislation.

Punjabi activists have embraced the freedoms offered by Canada that have allowed some of them to become a thorn in the side of India’s government