New Delhi: The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) has confirmed that Pakistan played a role in influencing Canada’s federal politics, and the country’s actions were tied to their support of Sikh separatist extremism. In a significant revelation, senior officers of the Canadian spy agency—Vanessa Lloyd and Bo Basler—also confirmed Pakistan’s participation in working “to support a preferred candidate’s election”.
On 27 September, in a session before the Foreign Interference Commission, Lloyd, interim director of the CSIS—the first woman to lead the agency—provided insights into Pakistan’s involvement in foreign interference activities within Canada. Lloyd highlighted that Pakistan’s engagement in Canadian politics is often aimed at countering India’s influence.
A video of this session is being circulated online amid tensions between India and Canada escalating once again.
India and Canada have each expelled six diplomats, with India also recalling its high commissioner from Canada, amid a row over the alleged killing of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
“Engagement of Pakistan is consistently in balance with trying to reduce the influence of India,” said Lloyd. Moreover, she added, “The influence of Pakistan is directly related to the support of Khalistani extremism”, indicating that Pakistan may be amplifying other voices and groups to further its strategic interests against its neighbour.
When asked by lead attorney Shantona Chaudhury if Pakistan “attempted to clandestinely influence federal politics, with the aim of furthering the Government of Pakistan’s interests in India,” Bo Basler, the Counter Foreign Interference Coordinator (CFIC) for CSIS confirmed that Pakistan was involved where it worked to support a candidate and Elections Canada and the Office of the Commissioner of Canada Elections (OCCE) were aware of such information.
These testimonies are part of a broader investigation into foreign interference in Canada’s electoral processes, which has been a key focus of public hearings initiated in January this year.
A recent set of hearings that began on 16 September has brought these revelations to light. The Foreign Interference Commission aims to uncover the extent of foreign meddling that may have influenced the 2019 and 2021 federal elections, particularly concerning the experiences of various diaspora communities in Canada.
The CSIS summary was presented to the inquiry as interim director Vanessa Lloyd, former director David Vigneault, and other current and former officials from the agency provided testimony. Additionally, agency officials also informed the federal inquiry that a former parliamentarian is suspected of “working to influence parliamentary business” on behalf of an unnamed foreign government. They were responding to an assessment from March, that the primary perpetrators of foreign interference in Canada are identified as China, India, Russia, and Pakistan.
Earlier this year, the Commission had already ruled out India’s involvement in foreign interference within Canada. On 8 April, a panel of Canadian bureaucrats concluded that there was “no interference by India,” including any funding of campaigns or dissemination of misinformation during the 2021 Canadian elections. However, the relationship between India and Canada has become strained due to the presence of Sikh separatists in Canada and allegations against India regarding its involvement in attacks against them.
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