NSICOP’s report on foreign interference in Canada’s democratic processes and institutions tabled in Parliament June 3, 2024
Ottawa, June 3, 2024 — The National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians’ (NSICOP) Special Report on Foreign Interference in Canada’s Democratic Processes and Institutions was tabled in Parliament on June 3, 2024.
The report discusses the definition of foreign interference; describes the threat of foreign interference in Canada’s democratic processes and institutions, including key actors and key tactics; examines the government’s response to the threat since 2018; and provides five case studies to highlight themes identified in the report.
This report is composed of an introduction, four chapters, a conclusion, the Committee’s findings and recommendations, and four annexes. The four chapters are almost exclusively based upon classified documentation, mostly summary assessments intended for senior officials or ministers and classified briefings, but also specific reporting from various security and intelligence organizations. This is especially true of Chapter 2 and parts of Chapter 3, where the Committee summarizes trends or specific instances and issues of foreign interference. Readers should note that the Committee has fully or partly redacted references to much of this source material to avoid injury to Canada’s national security, national defence or international relations.
The unanimous report includes eight findings and six recommendations. The government agreed with all of NSICOP’s recommendations.
The Honourable David McGuinty, Chair of NSICOP, stated that, “This report marks the third time the Committee has reviewed the issue of foreign interference since its inception, which underlines the prevalence and persistence of the threat. The Committee trusts that its findings and recommendations will help the government to strengthen its response, and Canada’s resilience, to foreign interference in the future.”
The classified version of the report was delivered to the Prime Minister on March 22, 2024.
The report is available below and on the NSICOP website.
