First Speech By Head Of CSIS Outlines Concerns For Canadian National Security

Photo Credit: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld via CP24

At a news conference in Ottawa on Nov. 13, Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) director Dan Rogers delivered his first annual public address outlining Canada’s current national security environment, which he described as “more complex and dynamic than at any point in recent memory.” 

First, Rogers discussed the threat of violent extremism in Canada. “The threat of violence motivated by extreme religious, ideological, or political views has changed significantly over the last 40 years, but it persists as one of Canada’s most significant national security concerns.” 

According to Rogers, since 2014, there have been around two violent extremist attacks per year in Canada, resulting in 29 deaths. However, he says these numbers would have been higher if not for actions taken by CSIS and its partners. Since 2022, CSIS has also helped disrupt at least 24 violent extremist actions.

Rogers said that today’s violent extremists are motivated by an “increasingly diverse, often personalized, set of extreme beliefs including xenophobia, accelerationism, nihilism, anti-Semitism, misogyny, extreme interpretations of religion, and more.” 

Moreover, he shared concern for the rising number of terrorists who are minors, revealing that “one in ten terrorism investigations at CSIS now includes at least one subject of investigation under the age of 18.” 

 Rogers noted how, in August, a minor was arrested in Montreal for allegedly planning an attack on behalf of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Three other teens, all 15 years old, were arrested in 2023 and 2024 on terrorism charges, although all of the attempted actions were foiled. 

Furthermore, during his speech, he specifically named Russia, China, Iran, and India as national security challenges, saying that these countries had been involved in espionage and transnational repression efforts. 

“Russia has been spying on the government and private sector in the Arctic, trying to send intelligence officers to Canada and procuring goods in the country for its war in Ukraine,” Rogers said. “China’s military and intelligence services are seeking classified and sensitive Canadian government information while working to gain a strategic and economic foothold” in the Arctic. 

When talking about Iran, he said that, “Over the past year, the Iranian intelligence services have targeted several individuals they view as enemies, prompting CSIS to disrupt multiple potentially lethal threats against individuals in Canada.”

Rogers closed the speech by saying: “The people of CSIS are deeply proud to serve Canada and have dedicated themselves to defending the rights, freedoms, and way of life that define what it is to be Canadian.”