Canadian spy agency 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.