Canada is increasingly skeptical of its intelligence capabilities, which rely heavily on the Five Eyes alliance due to the absence of its own intelligence network.

This assessment was reported by CBC News in the context of a discussion on the country’s intelligence operations should ties with the United States be severed.

Amid concerns over the unpredictable policies of a new U.S. administration, questions are growing in Canada about the extent of American influence over its intelligence services.

Canada conducts limited intelligence operations through its domestic security agency, the Canadian Security Intelligence

Service (CSIS), and the military. The Communications Security Establishment (CSE) handles foreign signals intelligence. All these bodies, however, lack a dedicated overseas human intelligence network.

The only program that gathers some foreign intelligence is run by Global Affairs Canada. Known as the Global Security Reporting Program (GSRP), it involves about 30 diplomats whose activities are overt and coordinated.

Canada has no stand-alone foreign intelligence agency and has long relied on the Five Eyes alliance, which includes the U.S., the UK, Australia, and New Zealand.

“We consume more information than we collect,” said Phil Gursky, a former analyst at CSIS and CSE.

Losing access to Five Eyes intelligence would be a significant blow to Canada’s national security. That concern gained traction after the Financial Times reported in February that Peter Navarro, a former adviser to Donald Trump, had raised the idea of expelling Canada from the alliance—though he later denied the claim.

Foreign intelligence ambitions

The idea of establishing a foreign intelligence service is not new in Canada but has never advanced beyond preliminary discussions under successive governments.

The issue resurfaces roughly every decade, said Stephanie Carvin, a former national security analyst for the federal government. Under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, no agreement was reached. In 2023, former national security adviser Jody Thomas said the matter was “not on the agenda.”

Even if approved, building such an agency would take years, requiring a legal framework, extensive recruitment, and agent development.

In 2006, former CSIS director Reid Morden estimated it would take about a decade to train sufficient personnel and cost around $200 million.

One alternative being discussed is expanding CSIS’s mandate to include foreign intelligence gathering through legislative changes. New Zealand and the Netherlands have taken similar steps, tasking their existing agencies with both domestic and foreign intelligence roles.

CBC News asked Canada’s five main political parties whether they support the creation of an independent foreign intelligence service.

The Bloc Québécois said the idea was worth considering but noted it remained unclear whether such a move would be necessary. The party suggested deepening cooperation with France, a non-Five Eyes alliance country, but warned that espionage carried risks, including diplomatic fallout.

Green Party leader Elizabeth May said her party opposed establishing a new agency, arguing that the existing intelligence and diplomatic tools were adequate. The Greens emphasized the importance of maintaining the Five Eyes alliance “despite recent threats from the American president.” NDP spokesperson Anne McGrath said Canada “must have the tools it needs to defend itself,” and expressed support for the current work of CSIS.