Canada can’t brush aside security concerns about India, ex-adviser warns

By Canadian Press on February 27, 2026.

OTTAWA — A former national security and intelligence adviser to the federal government says it “strains credibility” to suggest India has stopped harmful meddling in Canadian affairs.

Vincent Rigby, who now teaches at McGill University, says Canada needs to strike a balance between poking India in the eye and pretending national security threats no longer exist as the countries try to rebuild their relationship.

Asked during a briefing with reporters whether agents acting on behalf of India are currently involved in extortion or violent threats, a federal official said this week that Ottawa is confident this sort of activity is no longer happening.

The comments by the official, who was speaking on background, have prompted widespread skepticism.

Rigby also questions whether India has suddenly abandoned transnational repression tactics in Canada.

Stewart Prest, a political scientist at the University of British Columbia, says Mark Carney’s determination to mend fences with India risks opening a “credibility gap” between what the government says and what Canadians are seeing.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 27, 2026.

Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press