Canada 'must remain vigilant' about Indian foreign interference, CSIS report cautions

Darren Major · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 18, 2025 3:08 PM EDT | Last Updated: 6 minutes ago

Canada's spy bureau is informing that India's government continues to beryllium a overseas interference interest a time aft the 2 countries agreed to reinstate their apical diplomats.

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) released its yearly report connected Wednesday, outlining immoderate cardinal concerns and threats to Canada's nationalist security.

India was listed arsenic a imaginable root of overseas interference activities, alongside Russia, China and Iran.

"Canada indispensable stay vigilant astir continued overseas interference conducted by the Government of India, not lone wrong ethnic, spiritual and taste communities but besides successful Canada's governmental system," the study reads.

The CSIS study comes conscionable a time aft Prime Minister Mark Carney and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to reinstate their precocious commissioners and are eyeing renewed visa services to each other's citizens and businesses.

The 2 countries expelled each other's precocious commissioners, elder diplomats who are akin to ambassadors, past autumn aft the RCMP accused the Indian authorities of playing a relation successful a web of unit successful Canada, including homicides and extortion.

Most significantly, the RCMP person alleged Indian agents were progressive successful the sidesplitting of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the Canadian Khalistani separatist who was brazenly gunned down extracurricular a Sikh temple successful B.C. successful 2023.

Nijjar and others successful that question person been calling for an autarkic Sikh homeland successful bluish India called Khalistan, which Modi's authorities has vigorously opposed and denounced arsenic a nationalist information threat.

"Links betwixt the Government of India and the Nijjar execution signals a important escalation successful India's repression efforts against the Khalistan question and a wide intent to people individuals successful North America," Wednesday's study reads.

It notes that successful Canada, "a tiny radical of individuals are considered Khalistani extremists," but that doesn't widen to those who instrumentality portion successful "legitimate and peaceful campaigning to enactment the Khalistan movement."

"Real and perceived Khalistani extremism emerging from Canada continues to thrust Indian overseas interference activities successful Canada," the study says.

Calls to statement Indian pack a violent group

Carney faced backlash — from Sikh advocates and immoderate of his ain MPs — for inviting Modi to this week's G7 summit.

Carney has defended the invitation, saying it makes consciousness to person the person of the world's astir populous state astir the array erstwhile determination are "big challenges" to discuss.

According to the premier minister's readout, Carney raised "transnational transgression and repression, information and the rules-based order" with Modi during their meeting connected Tuesday.

WATCH | Public information curate connected threats from India: 

Asked during the closing G7 news conference what helium said to Modi astir Nijjar's execution connected Canadian soil, Carney did not straight answer.

"We person had a discussion, the premier curate and I, astir the value of having the instrumentality enforcement-to-law enforcement dialogue. Not conscionable dialogue, but co-operation," the premier curate said.

B.C. Premier David Eby said Tuesday that helium wants the India-based Lawrence Bishnoi gang declared a violent enactment successful Canada owed to their alleged links to transgression activities.

Police successful Surrey, B.C., person said members of the South Asian assemblage are being extorted nether menace of decease oregon violence, with the Bishnoi gang being linked to immoderate of those threats.

WATCH | B.C. premier responds to extortion reports: 

Eby said helium would beryllium penning to Carney to inquire that the pack beryllium fixed the violent designation "to alteration constabulary to beryllium capable to usage the indispensable tools to investigate."

Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said Wednesday that helium has taken enactment of Eby's comments but hasn't received an authoritative request.

"This is an autarkic process that goes done our nationalist information agencies and upon their recommendation, I volition beryllium capable to instrumentality that determination to cabinet," helium told reporters connected Parliament Hill.

MP Jenny Kwan, the NDP nationalist information critic, besides wrote to Carney connected Wednesday calling for the authorities to database the Bishnoi pack arsenic a violent group. She urged Carney to suspend immoderate information and intelligence-sharing agreements with India.