China targeting Canadians, harassing diaspora and stealing technology, says Canada’s spy agency CSIS
The new approach lets Chinese intelligence engage with a far larger pool of Canadians. Photograph: (AFP)
The CSIS report says China has been meddling in Canadian elections, harassing diaspora communities and stealing technology. It also published security alerts in 2025 highlighting the PRCIS espionage tradecraft targeting Canadian academic research.
Canada’s spy agency, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), has said that China is engaging in spying in Canada and is meddling in its affairs. CSIS said in its 2025 annual report that the People’s Republic of China’s intelligence services (PRCIS), both civilian and military, have switched tactics and post fake job advertisements through front companies on mainstream employment websites to recruit Canadians with access to proprietary or classified information.
This approach lets Chinese intelligence engage with a far larger pool of Canadians, who unknowingly apply to work for a hostile intelligence service.
“The PRCIS takes advantage of the financial difficulties and career ambitions that drive some applicants to apply for these job postings,” CSIS said.
Although most Canadians who apply to these jobs have no direct access to privileged Government of Canada information, providing their resumes and other personal information to the PRCIS may facilitate future targeting of an applicant’s close contacts who could have direct or indirect access to such information.
Aim to obtain political, economic, scientific, and military intelligence
The overall goal is to obtain political, economic, scientific, and military intelligence and neutralise or co-opt Canadian critics of China’s policies, including the repression of Uyghurs and Tibetans, the crackdown on free speech and democracy in Hong Kong, and its designs on Taiwan.
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CSIS said it published security alerts in 2025 highlighting the PRCIS espionage tradecraft targeting Canadian academic research.
The CSIS report says China is meddling in Canadian elections, harassing diaspora communities and stealing technology.
CSIS released security alerts on PRCIS tactics to raise public awareness
In 2025, CSIS released security alerts highlighting PRCIS tradecraft to raise public awareness of these evolving tactics.
Over the past two years, CSIS took measures, in coordination with Public Safety Canada and other Government of Canada partners, to successively disrupt the PRC recruitment of current and former Canadian military personnel to train PRC military aviators.
Canadian politicians, officials, and business executives are the prime targets of Chinese government espionage that employs blackmail, bribery, and sexual seduction, with the country even enlisting the Bank of China in its foreign-influence activities.
Consulates, visa offices told to alert Beijing about visits of prominent, influential Canadians
China instructed its consulates and visa offices to alert Beijing to prominent and influential Canadians planning to visit China. In addition, the Bank of China has been told to inform consulates of travel plans of Canadian business executives attending conferences sponsored by the state-owned financial institution.
In January, Prime Minister Mark Carney travelled to China to forge a new strategic partnership with the world’s second-largest economy.
The rapprochement with China is taking place after relations hit a low in the wake of the 2018 arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou on a US extradition warrant. China responded by arresting and jailing two Canadians on trumped-up espionage charges. All three were released in 2021 after Meng cut a deal with US prosecutors.
