Canadian spy agency CSIS report accuses India of espionage, interference in Canada in 2023

Canada’s spy agency said India was involved in “hostile foreign interference and espionage activities” in the North American country. This was revealed by the Canadian spy agency, Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), in a public report for 2023 that was issued this week.

The report counts India, China, Russia and Iran among “major perpetrators of foreign interference and espionage” in both Canada and other Western countries.

The Canadian spy agency’s report says that in 2023, these countries and their intelligence services “continued to engage in a variety of hostile foreign interference and espionage activities to advance their objectives and interests”.

The CSIS Act defines ‘foreign-influenced activities’ as those “detrimental to the interests of Canada and clandestine or deceptive, or involve a threat to any person”.

These actions, known as foreign interference, usually serve another country’s interests at Canada’s expense.

The Canadian spy agency’s report also talks about cyber activities against Canada by pro-India actors after a dip in Canada-India ties. It, however, clarifies that the Indian government had no role in them.

“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,” says the CSIS report.

TRUDEAU’S ALLEGATION IN NIJJAR’S CASE

In September 2023, Prime Minister (PM) Justin Trudeau announced to the House of Commons that Canada’s security agencies were pursuing credible allegations of a potential link between agents of the Government of India and the killing of a Canadian citizen, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in Surrey, British Columbia, in early June.

The statement led to a deterioration of bilateral relations between Canada and India.

The ties between India and Canada came under severe strain following Trudeau’s allegations on September 18 of a “potential” involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on June 18 in British Columbia. India had designated Nijjar as a terrorist in 2020.

Before the PM’s statement in September, Director Vigneault and National Security Intelligence Advisor Jody Thomas went to India to talk about the issue with Indian officials. Director Vigneault said that Canada and its friends want the Government of India to be responsible for its possible role in the murder of a Canadian citizen on Canadian land, in response to the serious accusations.

“There are credible reasons to believe that agents of the government of India were involved in the killing of a Canadian on Canadian soil,” said Trudeau, referring to Nijjar as a ‘Canadian’, who was included in the list of designated terrorists by India.

In November, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) revealed a legal document accusing a person named Nikhil Gupta of planning a murder-for-hire plot with a government official from India. The target of the alleged plot was a person who holds citizenship from both the US and Canada and lives in New York.

The Canadian spy agency’s report also talks about the alleged interference by India during the 2019 and 2021 elections.

“In January 2024, the Public Enquiry on Foreign Interference requested that the Government of Canada’s collection and production of documents include information and documents relating to alleged interference by India during the 2019 and 2021 elections,” said the report.