New Delhi: Terming peaceful advocacy for the separate state of \u201cKhalistan\u201d in India as a lawful activity in Canada, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) has noted the activities of a \u201csmall group\u201d of people related to the movement who use the North American country as a base to \u201cpromote, fundraise or plan violence\u201d aimed at the South Asian nation.<\/p>\n
CSIS, Canada\u2019s premier intelligence agency, in its latest public report released Friday, maintained that New Delhi is one of the \u201cmain perpetrators\u201d of foreign interference in their country, along with the People\u2019s Republic of China, Russia, Iran and Pakistan.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 2025, the main perpetrators of foreign interference and espionage against Canada remained the People\u2019s Republic of China (PRC), India, the Russian Federation, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and Pakistan. However, with shifting geopolitical realities and an increasingly multipolar global environment, these were not the only foreign states that sought to interfere in Canada,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n
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It added: \u201cHistorically, India has cultivated covert relationships with Canadian politicians, journalists, and members of the Indo-Canadian community, to exert its influence and advance its interests. This has included transnational repression (TNR) activities, such as surveillance and other coercive tactics meant to suppress criticism of the Government of India and create fear in the community.\u201d<\/p>\n
The intel agency\u2019s latest public report, which keeps India on the list of countries engaging in foreign interference in 2025, is contrary to the views held by the Canadian government ahead of Prime Minister Mark Carney\u2019s visit to India in March of this year.<\/p>\n
Ahead of Carney\u2019s visit, a senior Canadian official said that Ottawa is \u201cconfident\u201d that India is no longer facilitating foreign interference efforts in the North American nation. The comments by the senior official faced immediate pushback from the Canadian intelligence community, with CSIS spokesperson Magali H\u00e9bert telling ThePrint in March that the agency continues to work with Indian authorities to address Ottawa\u2019s concerns.<\/p>\n
The CSIS report underlined that in Canada, \u201cadvocacy\u201d for a separate Sikh state is \u201clawful political activity\u201d while pointing out that India \u201cacts to counter perceived threats to its domestic stability\u201d.<\/p>\n
However, CSIS acknowledged that there exists a group of Sikh extremists who use Canada \u201cas a base to promote, fundraise or plan violence primarily in India\u201d. While there were no Sikh extremist attacks in Canada in 2025, CSIS warned these groups are continuing to pose a \u201cnational security threat\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cOngoing involvement in violent extremist activities by CBKEs [Canada based Khalistani extremism] continues to pose a national security threat to Canada and to Canadian interests. Some CBKEs are well connected to Canadian citizens who leverage Canadian institutions to promote their violent extremist agenda and collect funds from unsuspecting community members that are then diverted toward violent activities,\u201d the report noted.<\/p>\n
The report added that CSIS \u201ccontinues to monitor\u201d these emerging threats and contributes towards the Canadian government\u2019s terrorist listing processes.<\/p>\n
In 2025, the Lawrence Bishnoi gang was listed as a terrorist entity by Canadian authorities, along with 11 other groups, including the Islamic State in Mozambique and the neo-Nazi Maniac Murder Cult.<\/p>\n
The latest public report comes at a moment when India and Canada are continuing efforts to deepen economic and strategic ties. The thaw in ties began after Carney successfully led the Liberal Party back into power in the general elections last April.<\/p>\n
In the year since, Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelled to Canada for the G7 summit, which saw both leaders agree to resume normalisation in ties with the simultaneous appointment of high commissioners. In August 2025, both countries appointed high commissioners to their respective missions.<\/p>\n