Canadian spy agency reports India’s involvement in Canada in 2023, blames nation for spying
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) has identified India, along with China, Russia, and Iran, as the main accused in a foreign interference and espionage activities in Canada and other Western countries. In its 2023 public report released this week, the CSIS highlighted that these countries and their intelligence services continued to engage in various hostile activities in Canada to advance their objectives and interests.
According to the CSIS Act, foreign-influenced activities are defined as actions detrimental to Canada’s interests that are clandestine, deceptive, or threaten individuals. These actions, categorised as foreign interference, typically serve another country’s interests at Canada’s expense, the CSIS said.
The report also stated, “Following the deterioration in the bilateral relations between Canada and India, low-sophistication cyber activities against Canada by India-aligned non-state cyber actors were observed. There is no indication that the Government of India was responsible for these cyber incidents.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s announcement in September 2023, regarding credible allegations linking agents of the Indian government to the killing of Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia, led to a deterioration in bilateral relations between Canada and India. Trudeau’s statement, accusing Indian agents of involvement in Nijjar’s murder, strained the ties between the two countries.
In November, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) disclosed a legal document implicating an individual named Nikhil Gupta in a murder-for-hire plot with a government official from India. The target of the alleged plot was a dual citizen of the US and Canada residing in New York.
The CSIS report also references alleged interference by India during the 2019 and 2021 elections. The Public Inquiry on Foreign Interference in January 2024 requested that the collection and production of documents by the Government of Canada include information related to India’s purported interference in these elections.
