Ottawa plans to expand CSIS powers to spy abroad
The federal government plans to give the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), Canada's domestic spy agency, more power to spy abroad. The Globe and Mail reported the plan on November 6, 2026.
Dominic Rochon, secretary to the cabinet on national security and intelligence, said Prime Minister Mark Carney is keen to acquire independent foreign intelligence, meaning information gathered outside Canada, to help the government make decisions.
Canada does not have an international spy service. It gets most of its foreign intelligence through Five Eyes, an intelligence-sharing alliance with the United States, Britain, Australia and New Zealand. The CSIS Act, the law that sets out the agency's mandate, limits its ability to collect intelligence abroad.
Rochon said the act would need to be changed so CSIS can expand its network of partnerships abroad and gather human intelligence, which is information obtained from people. He estimated that foreign spying would initially make up between five and 10 per cent of the agency's overall intelligence collection.
The money is part of the plan. The federal budget includes an additional $6 billion for CSIS over the next 10 years, and some of it will go toward collecting foreign intelligence. The agency currently has a budget of about $1 billion a year. Budget documents said the extra funding would help CSIS better protect Canadians from terrorism, foreign interference and espionage.
A senior official said the expansion could eventually lead to a separate foreign intelligence agency, similar to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Britain's MI6, the British foreign spy service.
Canada's signals intelligence agency, the Communications Security Establishment, already provides the government with information technology security and foreign signals intelligence. It also has a mandate to collect cyber intelligence.
CSIS's work at home has drawn attention in recent years. In 2025, Canada's domestic spy agency foiled potentially lethal threats by Iran directed against people Tehran views as enemies. Reuters reported on the case.
