Canada needs a foreign human intelligence service

Globe and Mail

12-05-2025

Thomas Juneau is a professor with the University of Ottawa's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. Vincent Rigby is a former national security and intelligence adviser to the prime minister and the Slater Family Professor of Practice with McGill University's Max Bell School of Public Policy. Stephanie Carvin is an associate professor with Carleton University's Norman Paterson School of International Affairs.
For decades, a small circle of government officials and academics have periodically debated whether Canada should establish a foreign human intelligence service. Proponents have argued that, as the only G7 member state without such a body, Canada needs to set up its own version of an American CIA or British MI6. Opponents have responded that Canada's secure position in North America and the important benefits it already derives from intelligence partnerships, such as the Five Eyes, have made the many challenges of creating a separate foreign intelligence agency unnecessary.
It is time to revisit this debate.
It must be acknowledged at the outset that these discussions have often been based on a false premise, i.e., that Canada does not already collect foreign intelligence. In fact, the Canadian Armed Forces do so during overseas operations, while the Communications Security Establishment (CSE) possesses a robust signals-intelligence collection program. In addition, Global Affairs Canada gathers information related to our foreign interests through its Global Security Reporting Program, while the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) collects foreign intelligence within Canada under limited circumstances and can collect security intelligence overseas. And contrary to arguments that Canada's intelligence programs are derided by our allies, our capabilities are in fact widely respected, notably with respect to cyber operations and watching over the Arctic.
But now is the time to step up these efforts. To begin with, the United States is not, and is unlikely to be for the foreseeable future, a reliable ally. Recent American actions toward Canada have been hostile, and there is no guarantee that Washington will continue sharing intelligence as it has in the past. Beyond North America, a revanchist Russia, an ascendant China, and a proliferation of conflicts, from the Middle East to the Caribbean to Africa, also directly threaten Canadian interests.
The slow crumbling of Canadian democracy
Given this deteriorating environment, exacerbated by a predatory United States, we believe that Prime Minister Mark Carney should take two steps: create a foreign human intelligence service, and enhance current intelligence capabilities as an interim step.
To be clear, any such service will fall short of being a 'Canadian CIA,' a level of ambition that is neither feasible nor desirable. But even a small agency would allow Canada to collect a greater volume of information from human sources abroad on matters vital to its interests. It would allow policy-makers to better understand the intentions and capabilities of a growing number of adversaries and take more effective action in response. It would focus on states, non-state actors such as terrorists and drug cartels, and also 'over-the-horizon' transnational threats such as pandemics and climate change.
Establishing such a service will be no easy task, and will involve significant government machinery. It will come with a steep financial cost. It will require the poaching of highly specialized skills from other departments and agencies. It will raise multiple political, legal and moral issues. And it will take time – likely five to 10 years. The government will need to ensure that it proceeds carefully and deliberately, bases all its decisions on solid evidence and consults Canadians.
That is why, in the meantime, Mr. Carney should significantly enhance Canada's collection and analysis of foreign intelligence. This could include providing greater resources to CSIS, the CSE, Global Affairs Canada and the Canadian Armed Forces to do more intelligence gathering and assessment abroad. It could also mean strengthening open-source intelligence capabilities throughout the national security community, as recommended by Justice Marie-Josée Hogue in her recent report on foreign interference. And Canada should diversify and deepen its partnerships outside the Five Eyes, particularly in Europe (including with France, Germany, and the Nordic countries) and in the Indo-Pacific (notably Japan and South Korea).
These two steps, taken in tandem, will bring important benefits to Canada: greater strategic autonomy, greater support for our national security, including our foreign and defence policies and, above all, greater protection for Canadians. It will also enhance Canada's standing with its intelligence partners and, as a result, secure even more co-operation from them.
Recent events demonstrate that Canada must do more to strengthen its security and prosperity and protect its values. These efforts will come in many shapes and sizes, but all should be aimed at making Canada more resilient and independent. Creating a foreign human intelligence service should be a top priority for the government as it embarks on this vital journey to build a Canada fit-for-purpose in the 21st century.