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Canada must weigh creation of new spy service with 'eyes wide open,' study warns
The paper says Canada already has intelligence tools and warns a new agency could expose agents to physical, legal and diplomatic risks.
- On Oct. 4, 2026, former Canadian intelligence officials Alan Barnes and Geoff St. John released a study urging caution on creating a foreign espionage agency, warning it could become an "expensive white elephant."
- "Virtually no Canadian knows how espionage is actually done," the paper notes, asserting that "ninety-nine per cent of all espionage fiction is pure junk" and distorting public understanding of intelligence collection.
- Agents face severe physical, legal, and psychological dangers, including potential torture or execution if discovered. Officers operating under embassy cover risk physical abuse, and "it is a certainty that one or more agents spying for Canada will be found out eventually."
- Alan Barnes, senior fellow at Carleton University's Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, told The Canadian Press that investing in Canada's intelligence analysis capacity would likely yield greater returns than risky espionage collection.
- Policymakers must identify a "vital need" for information obtainable only through espionage before proceeding, the paper says. Canada has regularly considered creating its own Central Intelligence Agency or Britain's Secret Intelligence Service, known as MI-6, since the Second World War.
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20 Articles
Canada should only form new spy service if it sees real need: study
Espionage is a deadly serious and generally misunderstood business, and it’s critical for Canadian politicians thinking about starting a foreign spy service to decide “with their eyes wide open,” a new study says.
·Toronto, Canada
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The Toronto Star+4 Reposted by 4 other sources
Canada must weigh creation of new spy service with ‘eyes wide open,’ study warns
OTTAWA - Espionage is a deadly serious and generally misunderstood business, and it's critical for Canadian politicians thinking about starting a foreign spy service to decide "with their eyes wide
·Toronto, Canada
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Winnipeg Free Press+13 Reposted by 13 other sources
Canada must weigh creation of new spy service with 'eyes wide open,' study warns
OTTAWA - Espionage is a deadly serious and generally misunderstood business, and it's critical for Canadian politicians thinking about starting a foreign spy service to decide
·Winnipeg, Canada
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Total News Sources20
Leaning Left13Leaning Right0Center7Last UpdatedBias Distribution65% Left
Bias Distribution
- 65% of the sources lean Left
65% Left
L 65%
C 35%
Factuality
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