Canada’s spy service on Monday said India and China are likely to try to interfere in its upcoming general election, a charge that came amid its worsening relations with the two countries.

Addressing a press conference on the April 28 snap election, Vanessa Lloyd, the deputy director of operations at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), said that “hostile state actors” were increasingly leveraging artificial intelligence to meddle in the polls, which were announced by the new Prime Minister, Mark Carney, on Sunday.

“The PRC (People’s Republic of China) is highly likely to use AI-enabled tools to attempt to interfere with Canada’s democratic process in this current election,” she said.

China is also “highly likely” to use social media to promote narratives favourable to its interests – and to specifically target Chinese ethnic, cultural and religious communities in Canada using “clandestine and deceptive” means, Ms Lloyd said.

“We have also seen that the government of India has the intent and capability to interfere in Canadian communities and democratic processes to assert its geopolitical influence,” she added.

The two countries, which have denied previous allegations of interference, have so far not said anything about the new charges.

Ms Lloyd also said that Russia has tried to build “dissemination networks” across social media and news websites that amplify Kremlin talking points. 

“It is possible that Russia will use these online networks to opportunistically conduct foreign information manipulation and interference operations directed at Canadians,” she said. 

She also charged that Pakistan could conduct foreign interference activities against Canada “in line with its strategic aims”.

Canada-India Ties

Tensions between India and Canada have simmered since former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s September 2023 allegation of New Delhi’s involvement in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. 

India dismissed the accusation as “absurd.” 

The row deepened when India expelled six Canadian diplomats and recalled its envoy to Ottawa after Canada attempted to question Indian officials as “persons of interest” in the Nijjar case.

Canada’s relations with China have also worsened in recent years. Beijing this month announced tariffs on more than $2.6 billion worth of Canadian agricultural and food products, retaliating against levies Ottawa slapped on Chinese electric vehicles and steel and aluminium products last year.