Canada’s foreign influence registry is a dangerous escalation of neo-McCarthyism

On August 4, the federal government’s Foreign Influence Transparency and Accountability Act (FITAA) came into force, establishing a public registry for anyone who enters into an “arrangement” with a “foreign principal” to influence Canadian political or governmental processes. The Communist Party of Canada condemns this registry as a dangerous attack on civil liberties and as part of Canada’s drive towards war and reaction. This is Canada’s own version of neo-McCarthyism, the same phenomenon playing out even more aggressively in the United States.

The new Canadian law is sweeping in its scope: an “arrangement” need not be formal, written, or paid for. It can be as loose as an “expectation” or “mere encouragement.” Registration is required within 14 days, with penalties up to $1 million for non-compliance.

The political pretences that brought this registry into existence were found to be lies. The Foreign Interference Inquiry, initiated by a CSIS propaganda campaign, spent years stoking fear of foreign meddling. Yet when Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue released her final report in January 2025, she concluded there was “no evidence of ‘traitors’ in Parliament” plotting with foreign states against Canada’s interests. She found that foreign interference “did not impact the results of the last two general elections.”

Yet despite this complete lack of evidence, the government pressed ahead with a registry that will be used to suppress political dissent.

The registry is so broadly drafted that it captures not only foreign agents but anyone working “in association” with a foreign principal. This is so vague that it could apply to academics, journalists, activists, and ordinary citizens. The government’s own Foreign Influence Transparency Commissioner, Anton Boegman, admitted the registry “won’t prevent foreign interference” and is “not designed necessarily to identify covert foreign influence.”

If the goal is not to stop interference, then what is it? The answer is clear: this is a tool to silence voices for peace and solidarity as the U.S.-NATO war machine ramps up military spending and engages in increasingly aggressive military adventures around the world. Just as the McCarthy era targeted communists and progressives, this registry will be used to target those who fight for peace. Immigrant communities from “enemy” countries will be viewed with racist suspicion as we have already seen with recent rising Sinophobia and throughout Canadian history which includes the forcible detainment of immigrant communities during wartime.

If Canada were genuinely concerned about foreign interference, it would start with the United States. Washington is currently supporting a separatist campaign in Alberta. The U.S. State Department has confirmed it met with members of the Alberta Prosperity Project, a group seeking a $500-billion US line of credit from the U.S. Treasury to bankroll an independent Alberta. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has spoken favourably about Alberta separatism, telling the media, “They have great resources… People are talking. People want sovereignty.”

After the U.S., Ottawa should look at Israel. For decades, Israel has wielded enormous influence over Canadian politics. As of 2023, more than 73 sitting MPs and over 800 MPs and senators since 1973 have taken free trips to Israel, courtesy of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA). CIJA conducted 107 separate lobbying sessions between October 2023 and April 2024, while Israel was ramping up the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.Yet CSIS has never investigated this as “foreign interference.”

Nor is NATO any less guilty of foreign interference in Canada. The NATO Parliamentary Assembly (PA) actively shapes Canadian policy on military spending, procurement, and foreign affairs, while deliberately bypassing democratic will. For example, when 52 percent of Canadians opposed U.S. missile defence plans in the early 2000s, Ottawa rejected them. Then in 2005, NATO simply repackaged the program as its own Theatre Missile Defence, and Canada quietly joined, with a Department of National Defence journal later celebrating the move as a way to circumvent public opposition. NATO has also pushed Canada to purchase the F-35 fighter jet, a nuclear weapons delivery system, and pressured Ottawa to secure its oil resources for U.S. military needs, leading to the criminalization of Indigenous and environmentalist protests.

Today, this foreign interference is accelerating dangerously: Canada has now committed to raising military spending to 5% of GDP, which is a staggering $150 billion per year. This massive increase will not only entangle Canada ever deeper into U.S.-NATO wars but will also trigger a massive wave of austerity, gutting social programs to fund militarism. Unlike the fabricated Chinese threat, NATO’s interference is well-documented.

Beyond NATO, Canada’s membership in the Five Eyes intelligence alliance is itself a conduit of foreign influence that undermines Canadian sovereignty. The Five Eyes, an intelligence-sharing network comprising the U.S., U.K., Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, has long been dominated by Washington, making Canada a junior partner in an arrangement where U.S. interests come first.

The Communist Party of Canada calls on all labour and democratic movements to stand against this foreign influence registry and other tools of neo-McCarthyism. We demand:

• An immediate repeal of the Foreign Influence Transparency and Accountability Act;
• A halt to the targeting of immigrant communities and progressives under the guise of “national security”;
• A genuine investigation into U.S., NATO and Israeli interference in Canadian affairs;
• A foreign policy based on peace, disarmament, and true sovereignty.

Central Executive Committee, Communist Party of Canada