What Stands Out in Canadian Spy Agency’s Public Report This Year

News Analysis

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service released its annual report earlier this month, and it provides a glimpse into the threats being quietly tackled in the shadows by the country’s spies, from espionage to terrorism.

Aside from traditional threats, the spy agency notes challenges in efforts to counter emerging issues such as youth involvement in nihilistic violent extremism, and conducting investigations in a digital environment.

Much of the information provided to the public is typically generic in nature, but the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) Public Report 2025 does identify some situations that do not appear prominently in the public domain.

The way information is presented compared to previous public reports is also noteworthy, specifically on how the threats posed by China are addressed.

China at Bottom

Similarly to CSIS’s 2024 annual report, the 2025 report released on May 1 identifies China, India, Russia, Iran, and Pakistan as the main perpetrators of foreign interference and espionage against Canada.

A notable change in the 2025 report is that the threat posed by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in those areas is discussed only after providing country summaries on India, Russia, Iran, and Pakistan.

The new report says that CSIS continues to “observe an evolution of PRC espionage tactics targeting the Canadian public, private, and academic sectors.” CSIS notes how Chinese intelligence services are using cover companies to try to recruit and gain information on unsuspecting Canadians by posting job offers on employment websites.

The report adds that CSIS and other government entities successfully disrupted China’s attempt to recruit current and former Canadian soldiers to train Chinese military aviators.

In contrast, China was the first country to be discussed in the section on foreign interference and espionage in the CSIS annual report in 2024.

The section begins by saying that “with one of the world’s largest and most active security intelligence systems, the PRC poses the greatest counter-intelligence threat to Canada.”

“Intently focused on ensuring the survival of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the PRC Intelligence Services (PRCIS) actively and clandestinely target democratic states around the world,” the 2024 report says. There is no similar language in this year’s release.

The change of tone and content caught the eye of former national security analyst and author Dennis Molinaro. “The real story here is how China was covered and discussed in previous reports compared to this one,” Molinaro said in an X post commenting on news coverage of the new CSIS report.

“The shift is glaring,” he said.

Prime Minister Mark Carney identified China as Canada’s top security threat during the election campaign last year, but Ottawa has since changed tone on Beijing as it pursues closer ties.

Ottawa entered a memorandum of understanding on law enforcement with Beijing during Carney’s visit there in January, and the Prime Minister’s Office announced a “new strategic partnership” with China on Jan. 16.

The Epoch Times contacted CSIS to ask whether it still considers China as the entity posing the top foreign interference and espionage threat.

“CSIS’ underlying assessment of risks has not changed,” a spokesperson with the agency said, without specifcally addressing China. “Canada will always take steps to protect our national security and interests including raising issues with foreign partners both privately and publicly.”

The Foreign Interference Commission said in its final report released in 2025 that China is the “most active perpetrator” of foreign interference in Canada.

Impacts of Israel–Hamas Conflict

The attacks by Hamas, a listed terrorist entity in Canada, against Israel in October 2023 and Israel’s military response have had a sizable impact on Canadian society.

Anti-Semitic attacks, such as Jewish institutions being struck with gunshots or firebombs, have been regular occurrences since the start of the conflict.

The CSIS report mentions anti-Semitism as an issue impacting public safety, but it makes no direct link to how anti-Semitic violence has metastasized since October 2023.

CSIS identifies, however, the Israel–Hamas conflict as a driver for religiously motivated violent extremism (RMVE). The term RMVE was adopted in past years to discuss mostly jihadist violence.

“The RMVE threat, and the threat of a domestic lone-actor attack in Canada, increased significantly since the beginning of the Israel-HAMAS conflict,” says the report.

CSIS says at least seven of its “priority investigations” concern individuals who could engage in violence or conduct a terrorist act while being “motivated by this conflict in whole or in part.”

“This conflict has also fuelled violent extremist organization narratives, and has the potential to inspire a new generation of extremists,” CSIS says.

The Israel–Hamas war also impacts CSIS operations in different ways, including by putting a strain on its security screening function. On top of actively investigating threats, CSIS also conducts security screening for government employment requiring a clearance and immigration applications.

The agency says it dedicated “considerable effort” to screening applicants from Gaza seeking to flee the war. Hamas has ruled the Gaza Strip since the mid-2000s.

“Public policy programs significantly impact the security screening inventory, particularly when security risks are elevated and the complexity of cases extends screening timelines,” the report says.

Ottawa implemented special measures in December 2023 to grant temporary resident visas to Gazans who have Canadian family members. The 5,000 visa applications cap was reached last year, with more than 1,750 having been approved as of August 2025.

CSIS says in its report that it has processed the majority of files and continues to prioritize the remaining ones.

New Threat

Aside from religiously motivated violent extremism, CSIS investigates threats falling under ideologically motivated violent extremism (IMVE). While this umbrella was in the past principally used to discuss right-wing or left-wing violence, the landscape has evolved to become “complex, diverse, chaotic,” CSIS says.

Individuals with “salad bar” grievances, mixing beliefs that can appear contradictory, are now forming attack plans, the agency says.

“As the boundaries of IMVE continue to expand, a new threat has emerged referred to as nihilistic violent extremism (or NVE), particularly among youth (under 18) and younger adults in Canada,” says the report.

CSIS says nihilistic violent extremism promotes the belief that life has no meaning and supporters seek to engage in sowing chaos through acts of violence. The agency says a portion of this type of threat falls under its remit, whereas other aspects fall below the national security threshold.

Arctic, Major Projects

A sizable portion of the report is dedicated to the Arctic and to what CSIS is doing to tackle the evolving threats in the region amid “increasing geo-strategic competition.”

The report identifies Russia and China as having “significant intelligence interest” in Canada’s Arctic. It adds that “certain states” are undertaking activities of concern in the region, without specifying which states those are. These activities of concern include establishing a covert presence in Canada.

“This past year, CSIS has seen certain states look to establish and maintain commercial or scientific operations (i.e., a physical presence) in Canada to provide them with a platform or cover to engage in threat activities against Canada and Canadians,” the agency says.

More specifically, CSIS says state actors seek to enter in partnership with local companies, governments, and communites to invest in critical infrastructure and natural resources project to “secure long-term influence in the region.”

A senior CSIS official testified in a House of Commons committee in February that while Russia is an Arctic country and China is not, the agency is more preoccupied by PRC activities in the region.

“The concern we have would be with clandestine or deceptive investment practices or economic engagement in certain market sectors in the Arctic,” said Paul Lynd, an assistant director with the agency.

Lynd said investigating threats in the Arctic is complicated by the lack of a CSIS office in the territories, with intelligence officers having to be dispatched on a temporary basis.

CSIS investigates threats to economic security and plays a role in security reviews triggered under the Investment Canada Act when there are foreign-linked takeover attempts of Canadian assets.

The agency says it was involved last year in providing advice on the major projects initiative of the Liberal government.

Ottawa created the Major Projects Office (MPO) to speed up the development of resource and infrastructure projects. Several projects were referred to the office for steering, including mines and natural gas export terminals.

The report says CSIS provided information to the MPO on the threat landscape and on the potential risks for each project.

One of the projects referred to the MPO is Phase 2 of LNG Canada in British Columbia, for which state-owned PetroChina owns a 15 percent stake. Other state-owned companies including Malaysia’s Petronas and Korea Gas Corporation are also partners in the joint venture.

Editor’s note: the article was updated with a response from CSIS.