Vanessa Lloyd, the deputy director of operations at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), cautioned that Pakistan might meddle with Canada from abroad during a recent press conference. Such steps would be in line with Pakistan’s strategic objectives to strengthen political, security, and economic stability while thwarting India’s expanding influence around the world, she said.
Lloyd also brought attention to India, claiming that the Indian government has the capacity and the intention to meddle in Canadian democratic processes and communities in order to exercise its geopolitical influence. This comes after Canada made identical accusations against both countries last year, which India has flatly refuted.
CSIS described possible foreign meddling in the Canadian federal elections of 2019 and 2021 in an unclassified summary published in April 2024. According to the research, India targeted particular election districts in 2021 that had a sizable number of voters of Indian descent who supported the Khalistani movement or had pro-Pakistan views. It further claimed that, possibly without the candidates’ knowledge, a proxy for the Indian government might have tried to sway democratic procedures by giving favoured candidates illegal financial support.
In order to further its objectives, CSIS also charged Pakistan with secretly trying to sway federal politics prior to the 2019 election. India responded to these claims by calling the inquiry “baseless” and accusing Canada of meddling in its domestic affairs.
India and Canada have been at odds since former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused India of being involved in the murder of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a claim that India rejected as “absurd.”
In addition to India and Pakistan, Canada’s spy agency has hinted that Russia and China may try to meddle in its elections. Lloyd pointed out that China is likely to use social media and AI-enabled tools to sway narratives in its favour while secretly targeting Chinese ethnic communities in Canada.
In a similar vein, she stated that Russia may opportunistically carry out information manipulation operations aimed at Canadians and has been constructing networks on social media platforms to spread Kremlin narratives.
