According to the Canadian government, eight foreigners suspected of espionage, subversion or terrorism were deported last year. The government did not mention the countries of origin of the deportees, but experts believe that China and Russia are likely.
According to the Globe and Mail, the government did not disclose the countries they represented or their activities in Canada, citing privacy laws. A spokesperson for the federal Department of Public Safety said, “We can tell you that in 2020, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) deported eight people for security reasons.”
According to the Department of Public Safety, “security reasons” can include espionage, subversion or terrorism.
Andy Ellis, former assistant director of operations for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), said that in his experience, individuals deported for espionage are usually of Chinese, Russian, Iranian or Pakistani nationality.
Richard Fadden, a former director of the Intelligence Community, served as national security adviser to two Canadian prime ministers. He said it is very difficult to resist espionage and foreign interference in Canada because Canada is an open society and does not have a lot of resources to devote to the matter.
One of the difficulties in dealing with espionage and foreign interference, he said, is that such threats are a lower priority than terrorism, which usually causes direct damage. Also, it is not easy to prove that someone’s actions are espionage or foreign interference.
The Security Intelligence Service told the Globe and Mail last November that undercover Chinese Communist Party intelligence officers and others are trying to silence criticism of the regime by using threats of retaliation against the person’s Family in China, among other things. These actions are endangering Canadian national security and the safety of Canadians.
The Intelligence Directorate says the “Fox Hunt,” which has been ongoing since 2014 and is led by the Chinese Communist Party’s Ministry of Security, was originally intended to hunt down corrupt Communist Party officials, but has been used to target dissidents and critics of the regime.
In a speech at the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) in February, David Vigneault, director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, warned that Beijing‘s military and intelligence services have been collecting sensitive data on Canadians, have been stealing key technologies and are trying to intimidate Canadian residents from China.
Last year, the Intelligence Directorate warned Canadian researchers and companies that agents of foreign governments were targeting the development of the COVID-19 vaccine. The Intelligence Community did not mention specific countries by name, but the FBI said China and Russia were seeking relevant intellectual property.
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