The annual report of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), released on Friday (local time), revealed that the Canadian Khalistani Extremists (CBKE) continue to “pose a national security threat” to the country and its interests.
In its 2025 annual report, CSIS said: “CBKE’s continued involvement in violent extremist activities continues to pose a national security threat to Canada and Canadian interests,” adding that “some CBKEs are well-connected to Canadian citizens who use Canadian institutions to promote their violent extremist agenda and raise funds from unsuspecting members of the community who are then diverted to violent activities.”
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What did the report reveal?
The report said there were no CBKE-related attacks in Canada in 2025, adding that some Canadians are “participating in legitimate and peaceful campaigns in support of the Khalistan separatist movement.”
He further pointed out that only a small group of people who use Ottawa as a base to promote, fundraise or plan activities primarily in India are considered Khalistani extremists.
The Canadian news agency based its remarks on CBKE by pointing out that 2025 was the 40th anniversary of the bombing of Air India Flight 182 (Kanishka), in which pro-Khalistan extremists were suspected. The agency called it the “deadliest terrorist attack in Canadian history,” killing 329 people, most of them Canadians.
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Concerns about CBKE’s presence in Ottawa were reflected in the 2024 report, the first issued after Mark Carney became prime minister. However, mentions of pro-Khalistan extremism have been absent from the news since 2018, when Justin Trudeau was in office.
The group was named in the Politically Motivated Violent Extremism (PMVE) category, which CSIS noted “encourages the use of violence to create new political systems or new structures or norms within existing systems.”
CSIS declares the Bishnoi gang as a terrorist entity
The intelligence agency added that it continues to monitor emerging threats and contribute to the Canadian government’s terrorist designation process. Additionally, in 2025, up to 12 groups were added as terrorist entities under the Criminal Code, including transnational criminal organizations such as cartels, Bishnoi Gang, 764, Maniac Murder Cult, Terrorgram Collective and the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS, also known as DAESH) affiliate, Islamic State-Mozambique.
India among top perpetrators of foreign interference in Canada
CSIS continued to list India as a “major perpetrator of foreign interference and espionage against Canada”. The list also includes China, Russia, Iran and Pakistan. However, in 2025, he added that several states, their intelligence services and other affiliated organizations had engaged in foreign interference and espionage activities in Canada, although the countries involved were not named.
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The report also included India, saying it faces perceived threats to its domestic stability, including separatism in Khalistan. In Canada, however, advocacy of Khalistan separatism is considered legal political activity.
While New Delhi denies all allegations of its involvement in problems on Canadian soil, such allegations rose during Trudeau’s tenure but have since receded.
Recently, several prominent Canadian officials have played down India’s alleged interference in Ottawa’s affairs. Ahead of Carney’s bilateral visit to India earlier this year, a senior government official said during a background briefing that the country no longer suspects India of interfering with democratic processes in Ottawa or engaging in targeted violence in the country.
Key things
- Khalistani extremists are recognized by CSIS as a national security threat despite their legal defense of separatism.
- The report reflects a changing narrative regarding foreign interference, particularly involving India.
- The absence of recent attacks does not diminish the potential threat posed by a small group of extremists.
