Canadians expecting PM Narendra Modi to repeat his Madison Square Garden performance at Ricoh Coliseum

NEW DELHI: Over 10,000 people, including NRIs and those with Indian ethnicity will hope that Narendra Modi repeats his Madison Square Garden performance when he addresses them at Toronto’s Ricoh Coliseum on April 15 during his three-day trip to Canada.

Modi is expected to attend a small civil reception of Indo-Canadians in Vancouver where he would move to after Ottawa and Toronto. Over one million Canadians trace their roots to India with several of them holding key positions there. The Indo-Canadian community has had many members involved in entertainment, academia and politics, including representations in Parliament.

This will be Modi’s maiden trip to Canada as PM and the first standalone bilateral trip by an Indian PM to that country since 1973. Public addresses are becoming a key aspect of Modi’s trips to countries that has substantial Indian-origin population with diaspora outreach a key element of the PM’s foreign policy objectives.

Sections of NRIs and Persons of Indian Origin in countries like US, UK and Canada have also played key role in Modi’s victory last year. A key highlight of the April 15 event is the likely presence of Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper. According to official sources, Harper may give introductory remarks ahead of Modi’s address.

This will be a special gesture given Modi’s old association with Canada.