Canada-based Khalistani extremists or CBKEs continue to “pose a national security threat” to the country, according to annual report of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service or CSIS.
In the 2025 annual report, which was released on Friday, Canada’s intelligence agency said, “Ongoing involvement in violent extremist activities by CBKEs continues to pose a national security threat to Canada and to Canadian interests.”
It added that some CBKEs were “well connected to Canadian citizens who leverage Canadian institutions to promote their violent extremist agenda and collect funds from unsuspecting community members that are then diverted toward violent activities.”
It stated that there were no CBKE-related attacks in the country in 2025 and added that some Canadians “participate in legitimate and peaceful campaigning to support the Khalistan separatist movement.”
“Only a small group of individuals who use Canada as a base to promote, fundraise, or plan violence primarily in India are considered Khalistani extremists,” it pointed out.
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It prefaced its remarks on CBKEs but pointing out that last year marked the 40th anniversary of the bombing of Air India Flight 182, the Kanishka, whose suspects were pro-Khalistan extremists. “It remains to this day the deadliest terrorist attack in Canadian history, with 329 people killed, most of them Canadians,” it said.
The concerns over the presence of CBKEs in the country were similar to those sounded in the 2024 report, the first after Mak Carney became the country’s Prime Minister. Allusions to pro-Khalistan extremism were missing from reports after 2018, the period during Justin Trudeau was PM.
CBKEs were named under the category of politically motivated violent extremism or PMVE, which CSIS noted, “encourages the use of violence to establish new political systems, or new structures or norms within existing systems.”
CSIS continue to include India among the “main perpetrators of foreign interference and espionage against Canada”, while also listing China, Russia, Iran and Pakistan. However, it added that in 2025, a number of states, their intelligence services, and other affiliated organizations engaged” in foreign interference and espionage activities in Canada though the countries involved were not named.
In its section on India, the report said, “India acts to counter perceived threats to its domestic stability, including Khalistan separatism. In Canada, advocacy for Khalistan separatism is lawful political activity.”
India has consistently refuted the Canadian allegations which had become markedly shrill during Trudeau’s tenure but have been tempered since his departure.
In recent times, several prominent Canadian officials have downplayed India’s alleged interference in the country’s affairs. Just prior to Carney’s bilateral visit to India earlier this year, a senior official, during the course of a background briefing, said authorities no longer suspected India of interfering in Canada’s democratic processes or being involved in targeted violence in the country.
During a technical briefing in late February, an unnamed officials said, “I really don’t think we’d be taking this trip if we thought these kind of activities were continuing.”
In March, the Premier of the province of British Columbia David Eby said his Government had “no information” about Indian involvement in violence connected to the extortion crisis there.
Also in that month, Royal Canadian Mounted Police or RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme said that there are currently no links between the Indian Government and transnational repression or foreign interference.
In an interview with the outlet CTV News, Duheme was asked whether his agency was concerned about transnational repression by agents of India. He replied, “In the files that we have that involve transnational repression, we’re not seeing any connection right now with any foreign entity, based on the criminal information, the investigations that we have presently.”