Canada Spy Agency Flags Khalistani Extremism and Indian Foreign Interference in Public Report

New Delhi: The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) has highlighted both the threat of Khalistani extremism emanating from Canadian soil and concerns over Indian foreign interference in its latest annual public report.

While the spy agency’s annual report was submitted to Canada's parliament last week, it was made public on Wednesday (June 18).

Earlier this week, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in Canada to take part in the outreach session of the G7 summit.

On the summit's sidelines, Modi met new Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in a symbolic thaw after a nearly-20 month-long diplomatic freeze triggered by then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s 2023 allegation that Indian government agents were involved in the killing of a Canadian citizen. India had strongly denied the charge, calling it “absurd” and politically motivated.

In the chapter on violent extremism, the report defines politically motivated violent extremism (PMVE) as the encouragement of the “use of violence to establish new political systems or new structures or norms within existing systems”.

It singles out “Canada-based Khalistani extremists” (CBKEs) as the primary source of such threats in recent decades, accusing them of supporting or planning violent activities aimed at establishing an independent state of Khalistan in India’s Punjab region.

“Since the mid-1980s, the PMVE threat in Canada has manifested primarily through Canada-based Khalistani extremists seeking to use and support violent means,” the report says.

While it makes a distinction between non-violent Khalistan advocacy – which it says is not considered extremism – and violent activity, the CSIS report says that “small group of individuals are considered Khalistani extremists because they continue to use Canada as a base for the promotion, fundraising or planning of violence primarily in India”.

Although no CBKE-linked attacks occurred in Canada in 2024, the CSIS notes that “ongoing involvement in violent activities by CBKEs continues to pose a national security threat to Canada and Canadian interest”.

The agency cautions that “real and perceived Khalistani extremism” contributes to heightened tensions with India and continues to drive Indian foreign interference activities in Canada.

Notably, the 2023 CSIS annual report made no mention of Khalistan or Khalistani extremism, and references to India were limited to the June 2023 killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar and the arrest of Indian national Nikhil Gupta in the US, who was charged in a separate alleged plot targeting a dual American-Canadian citizen in New York.

By contrast, the scope of the 2024 report is significantly expanded. It accuses the Indian government of conducting foreign interference through “clandestine, deceptive or threatening” tactics. According to the CSIS, these efforts are aimed at aligning Canadian policies with New Delhi’s interests, particularly in relation to Khalistan-related advocacy.

The Canadian spy agency lists India alongside China, Russia, Iran and Pakistan as one of the “main perpetrators of foreign interference and espionage against Canada”.

It claims that India’s interference efforts involve leveraging “ethnic, religious and cultural communities” and influencing Canadian political discourse.

The report says that following Modi’s election as prime minister, India’s government has increasingly sought to project global influence and suppress what it sees as “anti-India” activity abroad.

At the same time, the CSIS notes that India has “a long history” of viewing Canada as a haven for anti-India elements – particularly in the context of the 1985 Air India bombing and subsequent Khalistan-related incidents.

The report also references the murder investigation of separatist Nijjar, whose killing outside a British Columbia gurdwara in June 2023 led to a diplomatic standoff. Four suspects were arrested in May 2024.

In connection with the investigation, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police announced in October that it had uncovered evidence of links between Indian government agents and criminal networks involved in violence against Sikh communities in Canada.

It led to the tit-for-tat expulsions of high commissioners and five other diplomats by each country.

The CSIS also says that as Public Inquiry on Foreign Interference (PIFI) hearings began in March 2024, the extent of Indian foreign interference became “clearer”.

It warns that “transnational repression”, which it defines as foreign governments targeting diaspora communities to suppress dissent, has become a growing feature of India’s intelligence activities in Canada, which it states against the backdrop of the PIFI hearings.

The CSIS concludes by stating that it would continue to monitor and assess the scope of India’s alleged foreign interference. It asserted that such interference extends beyond diaspora communities to potentially influencing Canada’s political institutions and decision-making processes.

The agency underlines that Indian activities – both real and alleged – will remain under close scrutiny in the years ahead.

It says “Canada must remain vigilant about continued foreign interference conducted by the Government of India, not only within ethnic, religious and cultural communities but also in Canada’s political system.”

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