OTTAWA: Canada’s intelligence agency, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, has identified Khalistani extremists as a “national security threat,” stating that some individuals are using institutions in the country to promote a violent extremist agenda.
In its 2025 Public Report, the agency said the involvement of Canada-based Khalistani extremists (CBKE) in violent activities “continues to pose a national security threat to Canada and to Canadian interests.”
“Some CBKEs are well connected to Canadian citizens who leverage Canadian institutions to promote their violent extremist agenda and collect funds from unsuspecting community members that are then diverted toward violent activities,” the report said.
Khalistani extremist groups seek the creation of a separate state of Khalistan within India and are designated as terrorist organisations by New Delhi due to their involvement in separatist activities.
The report comes a year after the 40th anniversary of the Air India Flight 182 bombing, the deadliest terrorist attack in Canadian history, which killed 329 people, most of them Canadian citizens. The suspects in the case were linked to Khalistani extremist groups.
At the same time, the agency clarified that non-violent advocacy for Khalistan is not considered extremism. It noted that some individuals in Canada engage in lawful and peaceful campaigning in support of the separatist movement.
“Only a small group of individuals who use Canada as a base to promote, fundraise, or plan violence primarily in India are considered Khalistani extremists,” the report added.
India-Canada relations had sharply deteriorated in 2023 after then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged a potential Indian link to the killing of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, an accusation India strongly rejected.
Under Prime Minister Mark Carney, who assumed office last year, both countries have since taken steps to rebuild bilateral ties.
