OTTAWA — A new report by Canada’s spy agency says that China and India remain some of the main perpetrators of foreign interference and espionage against Canada, at a time when Prime Minister Mark Carney is seeking closer economic ties with both countries.
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), which released its 2025 Public Report on Friday, also mentioned Russia, Iran and Pakistan as other actors of foreign interference — but warned that they were not the only foreign states that sought to do so in Canada.
Foreign interference, as defined in the CSIS Act, includes activities that are detrimental to the interests of Canada and are clandestine or deceptive. It seeks to undermine democratic institutions and can target specific cultural communities in Canada.
“Historically, India has cultivated covert relationships with Canadian politicians, journalists, and members of the Indo-Canadian community, to exert its influence and advance its interests,” reads the 49-page report from CSIS.
“This has included transnational repression (TNR) activities, such as surveillance and other coercive tactics meant to suppress criticism of the Government of India and create fear in the community,” it added.
CSIS said in the report that, given the presence of supporters of the Khalistan separatist movement which seeks to create a homeland for Sikhs in India’s Punjab region, Canada must remain “vigilant” regarding potential TNR for members of the community.
“India acts to counter perceived threats to its domestic stability, including Khalistan separatism. In Canada, advocacy for Khalistan separatism is lawful political activity.”
Sikh Canadian Narinder Singh Randhawa, a longtime activist for the establishment of an independent Khalistan and a fierce critic of the Indian government, told National Post last month he was informed by police of an “immediate threat” to his life.
Randhawa said he was a close friend of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the Canadian-Sikh pro-Khalistan activist who was assassinated in front of his B.C. gurdwara in 2023.
CSIS said it continued to observe an “evolution” of Chinese espionage tactics in 2025 which started posting job advertisements to a growing number of online job marketing sites “to recruit Canadians with access to proprietary or classified information.”
The spy agency said this approach allows the country’s intelligence services takes advantage of financial difficulties or career ambitions to “engage with a much larger number of Canadians, who unknowingly apply to work for a hostile intelligence service.”
The CSIS report also made light of Iran which remains an “aggressive perpetrator of TNR.”
The spy agency gave the example of the “hacktivist” group “Handala Hack Team” which doxxed several international journalists, including a Canadian resident. Doxxing is the act of publishing private information about an individual online without their permission.
“Within days of being doxed, the Canadian resident began receiving hundreds of violent threats, and their family in Iran was harassed by the authorities,” reads the report.
“The objective of this harassment — whether in Canada or elsewhere — is to silence these journalists and compel them to stop working for a media outlet that is highly critical of the Government of Iran,” it added.
CSIS said it worked with domestic and foreign partners to respond to this incident.
The spy agency said the threat of religiously motivated violent extremism in Canada has been “particularly concerning” and has increased since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. In 2025, at least seven of their priority investigations were motivated by this conflict.
“This conflict has also fuelled violent extremist organization narratives, and has the potential to inspire a new generation of extremists,” reads the report.
It also pointed to ideologically motivated violent extremism which are deeply intertwined with online conspiracy theories, which are overwhelmingly reaching male subjects.
In July 2025, investigations and monitoring by CSIS and the RCMP led to the arrest of four members of Hide & Stalk, an anti-authority militia in Québec composed primarily of current and former Canadian Armed Forces members.
Three of the individuals are now facing terrorism-related charges, and the fourth is facing charges including for possession of firearms, prohibited devices and explosives.
— With files from Christopher Nardi.
National Post
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