New Delhi: Terming peaceful advocacy for the separate state of “Khalistan” in India as a lawful activity in Canada, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) has noted the activities of a “small group” of people related to the movement who use the North American country as a base to “promote, fundraise or plan violence” aimed at the South Asian nation.
CSIS, Canada’s premier intelligence agency, in its latest public report released Friday, maintained that New Delhi is one of the “main perpetrators” of foreign interference in their country, along with the People’s Republic of China, Russia, Iran and Pakistan.
“In 2025, the main perpetrators of foreign interference and espionage against Canada remained the People’s 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,” the report said.
It added: “Historically, 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.”
The intel agency’s 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’s visit to India in March of this year.
Ahead of Carney’s visit, a senior Canadian official said that Ottawa is “confident” 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 Hébert telling ThePrint in March that the agency continues to work with Indian authorities to address Ottawa’s concerns.
The CSIS report underlined that in Canada, “advocacy” for a separate Sikh state is “lawful political activity” while pointing out that India “acts to counter perceived threats to its domestic stability”.
However, CSIS acknowledged that there exists a group of Sikh extremists who use Canada “as a base to promote, fundraise or plan violence primarily in India”. While there were no Sikh extremist attacks in Canada in 2025, CSIS warned these groups are continuing to pose a “national security threat”.
“Ongoing 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,” the report noted.
The report added that CSIS “continues to monitor” these emerging threats and contributes towards the Canadian government’s terrorist listing processes.
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.
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.
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.
High-level political engagement continued through the year, culminating in Carney’s visit to India at the end of February. As part of confidence-building measures, New Delhi and Ottawa agreed to carve out law enforcement cooperation from the larger scope of ties.
The two countries have appointed point persons in their respective missions to coordinate law enforcement requests, while at the political level, New Delhi and Ottawa have begun negotiations for a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA).
India’s Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, is set to lead New Delhi’s largest business delegation to Canada next month, as negotiations will continue on the CEPA. For Ottawa, India remains an important market to diversify its exports, as ties between Canada and the US continue to spiral.
For India, Canada is a potential partner for energy supplies and critical minerals. Ottawa is also one of the largest investors in India, with its pension funds investing over a $100 billion into Indian infrastructure projects.