Canada's top domestic spy agency has issued a stark warning, revealing that Russia and China are significantly escalating their intelligence-gathering operations within the country's vast and strategic Arctic region.
Hostile Nations Target the Far North
In a major annual speech on national threats, Dan Rogers, the Director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), stated that hostile states are growing bolder. He confirmed that CSIS has observed both cyber and non-cyber intelligence collection efforts aimed at Canadian government bodies and private sector companies operating in the north.
The announcement, made on Thursday, underscores the growing geopolitical importance of the Arctic. Canada has repeatedly pointed to the region's newly navigable sea routes and its abundant reserves of critical minerals as reasons to bolster investment and security. In response, the federal government unveiled a new C$1 billion Arctic infrastructure fund in last week's budget, dedicated to building new airports, seaports, and all-season roads.
Submarines, Icebreakers, and a Call to NATO
This financial commitment is part of a broader strategy to assert Canadian sovereignty. Plans are underway to acquire a fleet of new heavy icebreakers and to consider the purchase of up to a dozen patrol submarines. Echoing the need for a collective defence posture, Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister, Anita Anand, recently urged the NATO military alliance to increase its focus on the Arctic, stating it must look northward as well as to its eastern flank.
Beyond the Arctic, Director Rogers detailed how CSIS agents successfully thwarted Russian attempts to illegally acquire Canadian goods and technology for its war in Ukraine. "This year, CSIS took action to prevent this by informing several Canadian companies that Europe-based front companies seeking to acquire their goods were in fact connected to Russian agents," Rogers said. The companies involved immediately cancelled the transactions.
Lethal Threats and Global Espionage
The threat is not limited to Russia. Rogers also confirmed that Chinese spies have actively tried to recruit Canadians with access to sensitive information and military expertise. In a further alarming disclosure, he provided the first public confirmation that CSIS has intervened to disrupt "potentially lethal" threats orchestrated by Iran against individuals in Canada perceived as enemies of the regime.
"In more than one case, this involved detecting, investigating, and disrupting potentially lethal threats against individuals in Canada," Rogers revealed. The remarks highlight the severe nature of the operations, which forced the agency to reprioritise its resources. Canada's relationship with Iran is notably strained, having severed diplomatic ties in 2012 and, last year, designating Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation.
