TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION
Canada to announce new foreign interference watchdog to fight transnational repression
Just months after ICIJ’s China Targets investigation, the country has confirmed that countering foreign influence is an “utmost priority” for the government.
Canada will appoint its first foreign interference commissioner next month as part of a package of reforms aimed at strengthening the country’s ability to fight back against transnational repression, a government minister has confirmed.
Speaking with ICIJ media partner CBC News, Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree confirmed that the government has already begun vetting potential candidates for the watchdog role, and plans to present options to lawmakers for review by mid-September.
The move comes months after ICIJ and its media partners published the China Targets investigation, which showed how Beijing has used sinister tactics to silence critics of the Chinese government beyond its borders. In Canada, CBC News uncovered cases of intimidation and harassment against a Hong Kong pro-democracy advocate in exile and a pro-Taiwan activist that included the circulation of deepfake, sexually explicit images online and threats against the activist’s family members still living in China.
In the weeks following the China Targets revelations, Canadian lawmakers spoke out against China’s targeting of dissidents living in Canada and elsewhere, and urged the government to act.
Jenny Kwan, a member of the left-leaning New Democratic Party who herself is an “evergreen” target of the Chinese government according to Canada’s intelligence agency, told ICIJ media partner CBC News at the time that countering transnational repression has become an urgent matter.
This week, Anandasangaree told CBC News that pushing ahead with the reforms was “an utmost priority” for the government and Prime Minister Mark Carney.
The new watchdog position in Canada was mandated by legislation passed in June 2024 following a public inquiry into foreign interference. The legislation also includes provisions to create a public registry of foreign agents, which Anandasangaree said would likely be ready before the end of the year.
“We put the world on notice that Canada is an independent, sovereign nation with a clear ability to ensure the safety and security of Canadians,” Anandasangaree said. “Any attempts that circumvents or undermines that principle, we will take action.”