Researchers behind a new report on transnational repression are warning Canada must not be “naïve” as it seeks better relations with China, which remains a top perpetrator in intimidating and harassing dissidents abroad.
The report by the Montreal Institute for Global Security (MIGS) called transnational repression “one of the most serious yet least understood threats to security and democracy in Canada,” and said China remains a leader in such efforts.
It cited several examples, including so-called “police stations” and online influence campaigns targeting Chinese Canadian diaspora communities. Families still living in China have been threatened, the report adds, and women have been targeted with sexual AI deepfakes.
Speaking at a press conference in Ottawa on Tuesday to mark the release of the report, its authors said they recognize the importance of diversifying Canada’s economic relationships in response to U.S. tariffs, but that it shouldn’t come at the expense of security.
They acknowledged India, with which Ottawa is also seeking to repair trade and diplomatic ties, as another example.
“We must not put ourselves in agreements that could put our citizens in danger,” said Kyle Matthews, executive director of MIGS.
“We have to keep our eyes open, and we can’t close our eyes to the authoritarian threat that China represents, and still is. As many of the countries around the world that deal with transnational repression will tell you, China is one of the biggest players, if not the biggest player.”
The report comes a month after Prime Minister Mark Carney travelled to China and struck agreements on trade, business and travel that he said would forge a “recalibrated” relationship after years of diplomatic strain.
On Sunday, China announced it was dropping its visa requirement for Canadian tourists and business visitors, a move that those behind the report said must be met with caution.
“We should not for a moment think that Canadian citizens travelling to China are not under threat of being monitored,” Matthews said.
Marie Lamensch, MIGS’ global affairs director and the report’s co-author, said it will be important for Canada to maintain its own visa requirement for Chinese travellers in order to ensure agents of the Chinese Communist Party aren’t coming to intimidate Canadians.
Co-author Phil Gurski, a former analyst for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), said the agency’s security screening branch should play a role as well.
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“If there are visitors coming from the People’s Republic of China, they should be vetted through CSIS, which has its own intelligence sources, has alliances with its counterparts around the world,” he said. “And if CSIS comes up against information that indicates somebody is not being truthful or forthcoming in their background or their intentions on coming to Canada, they should be denied entry.
“There’s no right to come to Canada. It is a privilege.”
The report makes clear that China is not the only transnational repression threat that Canada faces.
It cites several examples of Russian, Indian and Iranian attempts to stifle dissent abroad, while also highlighting lesser-known threats by Algeria and Rwanda towards their diasporas in Canada.
Several Global News investigations into Indian and Iranian repression are cited in the report.
Those investigations highlighted violent threats faced by Iranian dissidents and Sikh nationalist activists in Canada — most notably the alleged involvement by India’s government in the 2023 assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia.
Earlier Tuesday, Global News revealed that hundreds of foreign citizens are being investigated by Canadian immigration authorities in B.C. alone for their alleged involvement in a wave of Indian gang-led extortion crimes, mainly against Canadians of Sikh background.
The MIGS report also cites Global News’ reporting on a 2024 warning from Canada and its Five Eyes intelligence partners that China and Russia are targeting civil society groups like journalists and non-profit activist organizations online.
It says countries like China and India also frequently task diplomatic staff with carrying out repression efforts abroad.
The report’s authors said transnational repression is “a widespread phenomenon” and “a threat that is increasing” and “becoming more pronounced,” with several countries pursuing it at different degrees.
“I have spoken to Iranian Canadians who regularly receive threats to not raise what’s happening in Iran here in Canada, to not protest against the regime,” Gurski said, citing the recent anti-government protests in that country that were met with a deadly crackdown.
“I have a former colleague, a very senior Saudi intelligence official I met many years ago, and a Saudi hit squad was sent to Canada in the late 2010s to assassinate him as well for things he was saying against the Saudi regime.”
Lamensch noted even the threat of transnational repression has a chilling effect on democracy, with diaspora members increasingly unwilling to speak up against abuses at home or enter politics in Canada. They may even feel compelled to not vote in elections, she added.
The report frequently cites the recent public inquiry into foreign interference, which issued a call for government action on transnational repression after hearing from diaspora communities, while noting the issue extends far beyond elections.
Among the MIGS report’s recommendations are to quickly stand up Canada’s federal foreign influence transparency registry to better track individuals who may be involved in repression efforts. The registry was created by the government’s 2024 legislation to address foreign interference but has yet to launch.
The Liberal government said last month it had chosen Anton Boegman, a former chief electoral officer of B.C., to lead the registry but his appointment must be approved by Parliament.
Simon Lafortune, a spokesman for Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree, told Global News the 2024 law requires the commissioner to be approved within 30 days of the appointment, which would mean the House of Commons procedure committee and both chambers of Parliament have until Feb. 28 to do so.
Questions about the registry’s opening were forwarded to Public Safety Canada.
The MIGS report also calls on Ottawa to provide more resources and training to agencies like the RCMP and municipalities to recognize and respond to transnational repression, enhance public education and communications about such efforts, and improve international cooperation.
Last year, the Canada-led G7 issued its first-ever leaders’ statement on transnational repression that acknowledged the growing threat and committed to building a global resilience and response framework with measures to combat it.
A so-called digital transnational repression detection academy was launched in Toronto last fall, which aims to train participants from across the G7 to identify and counter digital and AI-led surveillance, manipulation and harassment attempts.
The U.S., which holds the G7 presidency this year, cut funding last year for U.S. State Department programs that partnered with organizations like Freedom House to monitor transnational repression and develop tools to confront it.
“We need to have more funds coming to Canadian civil society groups to do the research that is no longer being done in Washington,” Matthews said. “So this is an opportunity for Canada, with France, Germany, Italy, its other G7 partners, to make this both a foreign policy priority and a domestic priority.”
Lafortune said Anandasangaree’s office would take the time to study the MIGS report and its recommendations before commenting further.