Foreign interference watchdog to be named next month, public safety minister says

Canada's first foreign interference watchdog will be named next month and a new foreign agent registry will be launched later this fall, said Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree.

In an interview with CBC News, Anandasangaree said fighting transnational repression and foreign interference in Canada "is an utmost priority of the prime minister."

He said Prime Minister Mark Carney has tasked him with ensuring the government is ready to move forward with measures adopted in last year's foreign interference legislation by the time Parliament resumes sitting.

"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. And any attempts that circumvents or undermines that principle, we will take action," Anandasangaree said.

The minister suggested U.S. President Donald Trump's attacks on Canada further illustrate the urgent need to fight transnational repression.

"As we talk about the strength of Canada, the sovereignty that we're proud of, that we will never be a state of another country, I think it's more important that we tell the world and we amplify this message: that Canada is not a place where you can come and interfere with the civil and human rights of Canadian citizens," he said.

Anandasangaree's comments come more than a year after Parliament adopted Bill C-70, legislation prompted by revelations of foreign interference. The legislation, passed in June 2024, provides for a new foreign interference transparency commissioner to be appointed following consultation with recognized opposition parties in the House of Commons.

The legislation also provides for the creation of a public registry listing those who have made arrangements to work in Canada as agents on behalf of foreign governments.

Anandasangaree said the government is currently screening and vetting potential candidates for the position. He hopes to be able to present candidates for review by the Conservatives and Bloc Québécois — the only opposition parties currently with recognized status — before Parliament resumes on Sept. 15.

"We will have names for the opposition to consider and shortly thereafter, we should be able to finalize a name," he said.

Once the commissioner is named, the government will move forward with the order-in-council needed to create the registry, said Anandasangaree. He said the regulations are now being written.

"Certainly, before Christmas," he said of the new registry. "I hope it's well ahead of that. My expectation is by Thanksgiving, we should be able to get this done."

Anandasangaree said the government is also planning to implement "many" of the recommendations of the public inquiry into foreign interference headed by Justice Marie-Josée Hogue.

Hogue concluded that transnational repression in Canada was a "genuine scourge" and that the People's Republic of China was the "most active perpetrator of foreign interference targeting Canadian democratic institutions."

A recent CBC News investigation documented cases of Chinese transnational repression in Canada. The investigation, part of a worldwide investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) found that China has become more brazen over the years. In many cases, dissidents are targeted for expressing opinions contrary to the Chinese government's positions on what it calls "the five poisons": democracy in Hong King, treatment of Uyghurs, Tibetan freedom, the Falun Gong and Taiwanese independence.

The ICIJ investigation documented how the Chinese Communist Party and its proxies have used international organizations such as Interpol and the United Nations to go after its critics, and how little some countries have done to stop China's attacks on people living within their borders.

Anandasangaree said he has spoken with Canadian residents targeted by transnational repression, which he calls "completely unacceptable."

He said the government is also addressing allegations of Chinese centres in Canadian cities being involved in transnational repression.

He said the centres are currently the subject of a Canadian police investigation.

"Let me be very clear. The notion of, for example, the Chinese government having police stations in Canada, in Toronto, in Scarborough, for example, is completely unacceptable," he said.

"We will go to the full extent of the law to ensure that if that is the case, that is no longer a reality."