The Indian foreign ministry said in a statement that comments on "issues relating to Indian farmers constitute an unacceptable interference in our internal affairs."

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said he and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made clear to the chief minister of Punjab on Wednesday that his repeated allegations that Canadian cabinet ministers were Sikh separatists are extremely false.

Some of India's biggest companies say they will invest more than $250 million in Canada in the coming years in everything from pulp mills to pharmaceuticals and the IT sector.