Canada sought to avoid diplomatic brawl with India over RCMP probe, source says [Video]

Canada attempted over the past week to avoid the kind of tit-for-tat diplomatic conflict it now finds itself engaged in with India, a senior federal government source told CBC News.

CBC News has agreed to keep the identity of the source confidential because they are not authorized to speak about the matter publicly.

On Monday, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly declared that Canada had served six Indian diplomats and consular officials with notices of expulsion in reaction to “a targeted campaign against Canadians by agents linked to the Government of India.”

India has denied the allegations. It quickly retaliated by ordering six Canadian diplomats to leave the country within a week.

Here’s a timeline of the recent events that have caused relations between the two countries to deteriorate even further.