Nenshi meets with Khalistani independence supporters

CALGARY — Alberta NDP leader Naheed Nenshi is courting controversy after recently attending an event hosted by the World Sikh Organization (WSO) — an advocacy group that has been at the centre of controversy over its positions on Khalistan, a proposed independent Sikh state in India. Nenshi was captured in several photos at the event — held at the Alberta Legislature on March 25 — which have since circulated online.On the WSO’s Facebook page, it posted that “over 150” people attended the event, including “Ministers, MLAs, City Councillors, members of EPS, and many community members who continue to support WSO initiatives.”.“The evening was a great success, strengthening relationships, fostering meaningful dialogue, and advancing the conversation around human rights while building lasting connections between the Sikh community and institutions across Alberta,” the post reads.The event highlighted growing political tensions in both Alberta and across Canada, where the ongoing independence debate is deeply dividing citizens, even as diaspora movements linked to foreign independence causes are met with greater tolerance both from mainstream media and political figures.The Western Standard reached out to Nenshi's Constituency Office and the Alberta NDP for comment on his presence at the event, but had not heard back at the time of publication.Nenshi has previously not made any public remarks on his stance regarding Khalistan, but has been clear on opposing Alberta independence, previously pledging to fight it “with everything [he’s] got” and having put forward a pledge to UCP MLAs challenging them to sign it, showing they were “proud Albertans” and “proud Canadians.”In a recent opinion piece for the Western Standard, UCP MLA Jason Stephan (Red Deer-South) supported a referendum on Alberta independence, which both Nenshi and his party openly criticized.“Not a single member of the UCP campaigned as a separatist in the last election. But not a single one signed a pledge this year saying they love Canada and oppose separatism,” Nenshi posted on X.“Now we know why. This is a separatist government and a separatist Premier. They don’t just pander to separatists. Many of them are separatists. It’s time for them to come clean and tell Albertans who they really are and where they really stand.” However, his presence at the WSO event caused consternation among critics, who pointed to the organization’s long-standing association with advocacy around Khalistan..“Nenshi, who is against Alberta's independence and rallies against it, attended a political event with other NDP members, organized by people who support a foreign independence movement out of Canada — Khalistanis,” commentator Kirk Lubimov said on X.“The hypocrisy.”Columnist Ruchi Wali posted on X that the WSO had “a history of providing support to Khalistani terrorism and extremism in Canada, and that cannot be ignored.”She also added that numerous other Alberta NDP MLAs had attended the event, including Gurinder Brar (Calgary-Northeast) and Parmeet Singh Boparai (Calgary-Falconridge). Several MLAs from the UCP were also reportedly at the event. .Wali also wrote, “For over four decades, WSO has worked to resist or dilute the naming of Khalistani extremism in Canada, even as it stayed deeply involved in Indian politics and then cried crocodile tears about ‘Indian interference.’”The WSO was established in 1984 and has historically maintained that it supports human rights and peaceful self-determination, while condemning violence.It has also repeatedly defended the right of Sikh groups to hold referendums and demonstrations in favour of Khalistan — positions that have drawn sharp criticism from the Indian government and some commentators in Canada.In 2014, a large group of Sikh Liberals in British Columbia quit the federal Liberal Party, saying then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was being manipulated by Sikhs under the banner of the WSO.“We think this Liberal Party’s been hijacked by the WSO,” Rajinder Singh Bhela, a longtime Liberal and former general secretary of the Ross Street Temple, Vancouver’s largest Sikh temple, said at the time.More recently, the 2023 killing of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia, along with subsequent allegations by then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that Indian government operatives may have been involved, brought renewed mainstream attention to Sikh advocacy groups such as the WSO..WATCH: Khalistan supporters in Calgary demand India be killed .At the time, India accused Sikh advocacy groups of promoting extremism.The organization has also raised concerns about what it describes as a lack of trust between Ottawa and the Sikh community, particularly around allegations of foreign interference and criminal activity it alleges is sponsored by the Indian government.WSO spokesman Balpreet Singh told CTV News in February that “we’re seeing this wave of extortion across Canada and our government in the past under Prime Minister Trudeau had called it out, saying that the government of India is responsible for sponsoring this crime wave using the Bishnoi Gang.”“Our new government still calls it a crisis but has refused to call out the fact the government of India is involved — that’s diplomatic and political leveraging, but it’s not the truth,” Singh said.When the Western Standard reached out to the WSO for comment, asking the organization why Nenshi was invited to speak at the event, whether his attendance was an endorsement of the WSO’s positions, and whether it was concerned observers could interpret his presence as political support on issues such as an independent Khalistani state, Jaskaran Sandhu, the WSO’s regional president for Alberta, responded with a statement.“We invited all MLAs to attend our Alberta Legislature reception and were joined by members of the UCP and NDP. We also had City Councillors and members of the Edmonton Police Service attend,” Sandhu said.“It was a great success, which comes as no surprise, given that the WSO is Canada's leading Sikh advocacy organization with a strong mandate from the Sikh Canadian community. We look forward to holding it again next year.”

Nenshi meets with Khalistani independence supporters

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